Night Eyes
by FullmetalEcho688
Summary: Edward's gone, and no one can find him. To make matters worse, it looks like he's killing people. Al and Winry have joined Mustang and his team in order to find Ed, and the truth. How are the Homunculi involved? And what's Ed hiding?
1. Chapter 1

**Night Eyes**

**Chapter 1**

He perched on the top of a swing, admiring his handiwork. The way the body lay… it was like art to him. He wiped some blood off his cheek with the back of his hand, knowing that it didn't belong to him.

_She didn't know either._

The boy suddenly stood, balancing perfectly on the swing, and jumped off onto a nearby rooftop, vanishing from sight.

* * *

><p>"Sir, another one was murdered last night," reported Hawkeye, trying hard not to sigh in frustration. It simply wasn't a professional thing to do. Immediately after she thought that, her superior sighed in frustration.<p>

"We're not getting anywhere on this case, Lieutenant. We've been assigned to it for months, but we still haven't got any clues on the murderer. And the victims aren't related at all!" Mustang folded his hands together tensely and put his chin on them, elbows on his desk. No-one but his subordinates knew that was a gesture of extreme frustration.

"Sir… I hate to be the one to say this, but… the rumors about the murderer…" Havoc said reluctantly. Colonel Mustang instantly swung cold, heartless black eyes onto his subordinate in the most terrifying death glare he could muster, and Havoc felt his knees attempt to give way. The Colonel wouldn't kill him… of course not… right?

"_**What about**_ the rumors, 2nd Lieutenant Havoc? Is there something you'd like to _**suggest**_?" Mustang glared ruthlessly. Havoc swallowed and attempted to answer, but his mouth was suddenly dry.

"Well, um, it's just, err… never mind," Havoc gulped. Mustang gave him an 'I thought so' look.

"Keep trying to find a connection between the victims. And I want the patrol tonight to be extra sharp! Dismissed," Mustang ordered.

"Yes sir," the two replied, saluting. Havoc noticed Hawkeye giving Mustang a concerned look on the way out, but he could hardly blame her. All of Mustang's team was worrying over the toll this case was obviously having on him. Mustang was being alternatively distant or tense, even staying late and _actually working_ on this case. Everyone was stunned.

"How'd it go?" Breda asked. Hawkeye shook her head silently.

"I tried to mention the rumors…" Havoc muttered. Fuery, Falman and Breda all stared at him.

"You're kidding, right?" Fuery asked, the rays of sunset reflecting off his glasses. Havoc shook his head.

"You idiot, Jean! You know that Mustang goes into flat out denial when anyone implies that Ed could be the murderer!" Breda yelled. Silence fell on the office.

"Breda…" Falman trailed off. Breda looked over at him.

"You know it's a possibility. Everyone knows it's a possibility! Every single witness we've had has given us an almost perfect description of Ed and says he was leaving the crime scene!" Breda insisted.

"Yeah, a whole three witnesses. Two drunks and a druggie, real reliable," Havoc snapped.

Breda stood, knocking his chair over. "Look, I don't like it any more than you do. But these are the facts. You twist theories to fit the facts, not facts to fit your theory!"

"Everyone calm down right now!" Hawkeye ordered, pulling her gun. "Get back to work."

The officers worked in silence for the rest of their shift.

* * *

><p>Later that day, Colonel Mustang found himself looking at the most recent body. This person was just one dead body in a whole long line of bodies that had been pouring into HQ over the last three months. And this one was in the exact same condition as all the rest- it had two small, round wounds in its neck and had been drained of most of its blood. If that wasn't disturbing enough, the skin of the body was grey and withered as if the body had been dead for 20 years, when Mustang knew that she had been murdered just last night. Recent tests on the skin had revealed that not only was its blood drained, so was all the natural nutrients found in the human body, and that was the reason was the withered look of the body. It also made autopsies almost impossible.<p>

Mustang sighed, letting his mind wander. Havoc had mentioned the rumors earlier… the wild rumors the public had somehow come up with to explain all the deaths. Everyone was saying that it was Fullmetal who had murdered these people, that he was a vampire who only came out at night, who found his victim and drained them of all their blood. It was absurd. The witnesses who saw him leave crime scenes were unreliable and drunk, and the rumor had no substantial base. But that was what the public chose to believe, and it certainly didn't help that Fullmetal went missing at the same time the deaths started. The two were completely unrelated… Mustang knew Fullmetal wouldn't kill people, therefore he knew Fullmetal didn't do it. It was as simple as that. Mustang checked his watch, realizing that his shift was now over. But the real work hadn't even begun yet- he needed to meet his team in two hours for patrol. He stood, glanced one more time at the poor dead girl on the table, and left.

* * *

><p>"Are you sure you got the torch? What about the snacks? Did you get the-" the girl got cut off in the middle of her sentence.<p>

"Calm down, Winry, I got everything. So don't worry," Al replied, shifting the bag over his shoulder.

Winry sighed, "I just don't want to have to go back to our apartment for it, that's all." She flashed Al an apologetic smile. He just nodded understandingly. The two teens were walking down the dark, deserted street, with just enough light left to make out the general shapes around them. Of course the street was deserted; no one ever came out after 7pm anymore, except for drunken partygoers, stupid thrill seekers, 'vampire hunters' (which Al and Winry had laughed long and hard at) and Mustang's patrol team. The duo reached the usual meeting spot (the entrance to a park situated in the middle of the city) to find that they were the last to arrive.

"Hey Al, Winry," Havoc greeted them as they came into view. Al smiled and Winry waved.

"Good, now that we're all here," Mustang began, "I want patrol to be extra sharp tonight! I'm not sure how the killer has evaded us for so long, so check every nook and cranny, investigate every noise, whatever you have to do to catch this guy. I want every inch of this district covered before morning!"

"Yes sir!" they all replied, and saluted. The group split up into four groups of two- Mustang and Alphonse headed north, Hawkeye and Winry went east, Breda and Falman took south, and Havoc and Fuery headed west. If they had the choice, Al and Winry would've teamed up together, except that they were both young and while Al could defend himself, neither of them had military experience nor first aid knowledge. Mustang had told them that if they wanted to tag along, they would each have to pair up with a military officer. The patrol team headed off to their designated areas; it was going to be a long night.

* * *

><p><em>There's one.<em>

It was another girl- they must like going out late at night. He followed her as she stumbled along the street.

_Maybe she knows…_

He studied her as she wobbled along the street, trying to gain her balance. He could smell alcohol on her breath despite being metres away. After a moment, he decided to ask her.

"Do you know?" he spoke, seemingly appearing out of nowhere behind the girl. She jumped wildly and tripped, falling on her side.

"Do I… know… wut?" she slurred, half lying on the ground, gazing up at him.

"Do you know… me?" he asked her. She shook her head, swaying from the movement. "Oh." He leaned in close to her, close enough to kiss her if he wanted to. She stared in his eyes in wonder. They were so… hypnotic. She wanted to kiss him, but her drunken mind told her that she couldn't move. He moved his face to hover over her neck, and opened his mouth. The girl wanted to scream- he had fangs! - But she was frozen in place, completely paralyzed.

Blood soon sprayed over the street.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Mustang and Alphonse chatted together as they walked. The two had grown much closer since Fullmetal's disappearance and being paired together on patrol had only strengthened their friendly relationship. They had long since left Mustang's car, since most of their assigned district had streets to narrow for cars, and were meant only for pedestrians.

"What time is it?" Al asked curiously. Mustang checked his watch.

"Just hit 1 am," he replied. Al nodded, and together they turned a corner into a new street.

"Did you hear that?" Mustang suddenly whipped his head around to gaze thoughtfully down the street, though he couldn't actually see anything through the menacing darkness.

Al looked too, a blank look in his eyes. "I didn't hear anything…"

Mustang made a split second decision, saying, "You wait here Al, I'll go check it out."

"Okay, sir," he replied, watching the older man move stealthily down the street until he turned another corner.

As Mustang turned the corner, he felt himself freeze up in shock, abruptly confronted with a sight he never thought he would see in his entire life. A girl lay limp of the ground, blood streaming endlessly from two small, round wounds in her neck, while a young teenager stood over her. He too was covered in blood, though it was hard to tell from his black outfit. A trickle of the crimson liquid ran from the boy's mouth, and some more blood stained his golden hair.

"Ed… ward?" Mustang choked out the word. That single word which meant so much more to numerous people around the world, people who Fullmetal had saved or helped. And now…

Hearing the strange man speak, the teen turned and regarded the stranger. Tilting his head in thought, the boy echoed, "Edward?" Mustang stared into heart wrenchingly familiar golden eyes.

"Then, do you know?" the teen asked him, far too casually for the situation.

Mustang blinked, "What do you mean?"

Suddenly, the boy was right in front of him, moving faster than humanly possible. "Do you know me?"

Mustang inhaled slowly, attempting to calm down. "Of course I know you, Edward."

The blood-soaked teen's eyes lit up. "You know me? You're the first who does."

"You… you don't remember?" Mustang realized, looking down into Edward's face. Taking in the blank, soulless eyes, the furrowed eyebrows, the blood trickling down from the corner of his mouth, and the hint of Edward's mouth being somewhat fuller than it should rightfully be.

"What's wrong, Edward? What happened to you… what's wrong with you?" Mustang asked, yearning for _any_ kind of answer from Ed. The teen looked around behind him, and then suddenly took off, running past Mustang and vanishing from sight. Mustang gasped as Edward passed him, sure that he was about to die. Normally he would fight, but not only could he not hurt Ed- err, Fullmetal, but he was also paralyzed, unable to move. But Fullmetal didn't kill him, simply running off into the night. When Mustang finally roused himself from his frozen state moments later, he got one more shock for the night. The body of the girl was gone… and Fullmetal hadn't taken it.

* * *

><p>"<em><strong>I can't believe<strong>_** you didn't call me! I was just around the corner; I could've come and talked to Brother! But no, you scared him off!**" Al yelled, exasperated. Al almost never got mad, but when he did, he was absolutely furious. And right now, Colonel Mustang was the target of his infuriation. Said Colonel was currently hiding behind Lieutenant Hawkeye, to the amusement of the rest of the team.

"_I'm sorry_, Al, I really am! I was in shock, and I wasn't thinking properly!" Mustang tried to defend himself. Al glowered at him, and the team abruptly noticed the family resemblance between him and his brother.

"Stop fighting, you two. At least we have good news as well as bad news," Hawkeye gently but firmly pushed the Colonel off her and pushed Al off the Colonel.

"Yeah," Winry agreed, "Good news is we finally found Ed!" Her eyes glowed tiredly but happily in the sunrise.

"Bad news is, he's killing people," Breda replied bluntly, cutting her happiness short. Havoc smacked his occasionally heartless colleague over the head.

"What are we going to do about this, sir?" Fuery questioned Mustang. His superior glanced over and replied, "I'm not going to report this just yet." Everyone's mouths dropped, and they stared at him in surprise.

"Look," Mustang began, "I was the only one who saw Fullmetal tonight. I was the only one who was there and I'm the best judge of what happened. That girl could've been dead, or she could have only been unconscious. She could've even been awake but paralyzed like me; I didn't get the chance to check. When Fullmetal left, she still looked human, not dry and withered or anything." The entire team was silent.

"Then after Fullmetal left, the girl was taken. _Someone else_ had taken her, which means that Fullmetal isn't our only suspect, or even our strongest one. That someone else has to interfere with the body in order to wither it like that, so they are probably our killer. I do not want the entire nation thinking that Fullmetal's killing and defiling these people, especially since we have no evidence he killed that girl! She could've easily been alive! So no-one reports this until we have our facts straight, is that clear?" Mustang ordered.

"Sir, yes sir!" the team hollered back at him. Mustang nodded his approval.

"There's one more thing, Colonel…" Havoc said. Mustang gestured for him to continue.

"Well, Ed wasn't there when the body was withered, but you said he was there when the body was drained of blood… when the girl had two bite wounds in her neck… and you also mentioned, he had blood trickling from his mouth…" Havoc looked uneasy.

"What are you suggesting, Havoc?" Hawkeye asked coolly.

"Well, don't you think that's odd? Weird? Disturbing, to say the least!" Havoc insisted.

"I agree with Havoc," Al chimed in, to everyone's surprise. "That's very weird, especially for Brother."

"Al…" Winry looked concerned.

"Well, it's late… or early, rather. Let's all go home and get some rest," Falman suggested. Breda looked kind of smug; he had said that Edward was a part of the murders and he was right. His expression was very disturbing. Everyone murmured agreement to Falman, giving Breda a wide berth when passing him, leaving him lost in his slightly evil moment.

"I expect everyone to report at work at 12:30 sharp," Hawkeye reminded them. The military officers all groaned.

* * *

><p>"Colonel Mustang! How are you this fine day?" a voice boomed behind him. Mustang didn't even have to turn around.<p>

"Rather tired, actually. And you, Major Armstrong?" the Colonel glanced up to the overly muscled and bulky state alchemist now walking beside him through the Military Headquarters.

"I am always energized and capable, no matter of a lack of sleep! It is a trait passed down through the Armstrong family for generations!" Armstrong posed heroically, and Mustang sighed.

"Actually, I thought I would let you know that another body has been found and taken level 5 of this fine Headquarters building!" Armstrong boomed. The Colonel's head snapped up and he stopped walking.

"Another body? It wasn't a girl, was it?" Mustang interrogated his colleague.

"In fact, it was a girl! You have incredible perception levels, Colonel Mustang! Rather like myself, as amazing levels of perception have been passed down through the Armstrong family for generations!" Armstrong didn't just pose this time; he ripped off his shirt and flexed. Mustang sweatdropped.

"Was it in the same condition as the other bodies?" Mustang asked.

Armstrong nodded. "Indeed, Colonel. It was discovered at about 10am this morning by a couple showing dedicated fitness levels by jogging! Like me, dedicated fitness and strength have been passed down-"

Mustang quickly interrupted, "Where was it found?"

"Why, it was located in Southern Central, near the Harthing Bridge!" Armstrong responded.

"Excuse me, Major, but something urgent just came up," Mustang excused himself hurriedly.

"Of course! Have a good day, Colonel Mustang!" Armstrong beamed and saluted, turning into a nearby corridor, leaving Mustang alone in the hallway.

Mustang brought his hand to his chin, deep in thought. The body was found deep in southern Central, whereas Fullmetal had been in Northern Central where he and Al had been patrolling. This was solid evidence that Fullmetal hadn't been the one to defile that girl and dump her body- he wasn't even in the right part of town! Mustang quickly strode off to find Hawkeye.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3-**

"Alright, is everyone ready for patrol?" Mustang asked. It was just past 7pm, and it had gotten darker earlier than usual. The whole team had their torches out already.

"Yes sir," they replied enthusiastically. They had been patrolling for months without results, and now they had finally made progress on not only the murders, but also locating Edward. They were in high spirits tonight.

"Sir, did you bring the map folders I gave you?" Hawkeye questioned.

Mustang turned to Havoc. "Did you bring those folders I gave you earlier?"

Havoc turned to Falman. "Hey, did you get the yellow folders on your desk?"

Falman turned to Breda. "I hope you remembered the folders I handed you?"

Breda turned to Fuery. "Did you bring the folders in your bag?"

Fuery went a strange mix of red and deathly white. "No…"

Hawkeye's expression went dangerous, and she pulled her gun. "Get. **Them**. _**Now**_."

Mustang quickly grabbed Al by the shirt and pulled him away. "Okay, I'll get the folders and then we'll head to patrol, have a good night, bye!" And then he was gone, dragging Al along with him. Hawkeye tried hard not to scowl, but judging by her colleague's expressions, it was not working at all.

"Everyone get to work!" she demanded. Everyone fled.

* * *

><p>"Sorry, Al. Just this quick detour and then we'll go on patrol. I'll go in, get the folders and be back before you know it." Mustang said. Al nodded as they pulled to a stop and Mustang got out.<p>

A couple of windows were lit up at HQ, indicating soldiers, detectives or secretaries working late to appease their immense workloads. However, there were no lights on at all on the level Mustang's office was on, so he used his torch to travel the hallways and switched the light switch on when he entered his office.

Everything got colder as Mustang entered, and he felt his body freeze in place again in the doorway to his inner office. Mustang's eyes shot to his desk, and he felt a chill travel down his spine and into his stomach at the sight that awaited him.

Fullmetal was sitting on his desk, reading through some files that Mustang didn't even want to know where he'd found. But the teen was blood soaked again, although none of it came from his mouth. Mustang was stunned when he saw the wounds. He counted ten in all, three bullets wounds, two exceptionally deep scratches that looked like they went nearly the whole way through his body, four burns (three so bad his skin looked black) and a stab wound in his side. Mustang swallowed- no one should be able to move with those wounds, in fact by all rights Fullmetal should be unconscious. That he would still be perfectly capable of movement…

**That's not human.**

"Fullmetal?" Mustang asked slowly.

"The Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward Elric. Also known as 'Alchemist of the People'. This is my folder," the teen monotoned, looking around at Mustang with the folder still in his hands. "You were my commanding officer, Colonel Roy Mustang, the Flame Alchemist. Then you really do know me."

"Of course I know you, Edward," Mustang said, unknowingly repeating his words from last night.

"Tell me," Edward demanded coldly, standing on Mustang's desk. The Colonel winced at Fullmetal's movement.

"First, we should bandage up your wounds. They're pretty bad, Fullmetal," Mustang told him, reaching slowly for his arm. 'Pretty bad' was the understatement of the year- the kid looked like a moving corpse. He also noticed Fullmetal's skin was paper white, unlike his usual tan.

Edward eyed the man suspiciously, especially his outstretched hand. This person wanted to touch him?

_No._

Ed suddenly opened his mouth wide, hissing and baring his fangs, soulless golden eyes burning with rage. Mustang actually fell over in shock.

"Sorry, sorry!" Mustang stammered.

"… Brother…" a new voice added. Edward's head snapped over to the new person, scowling dangerously. Al stood there, trying not to do something stupid like scream or faint or anything. But it was hard- everything about his brother screamed _predator_. A dangerous, injured and generally pissed off predator.

"Who the fuck are you?" Edward fumed, angry that his proposed meal had been interrupted.

"I'm your brother…" Al took a step forward, slowly. Ed suddenly seemed less angry, and more interested.

"I have a brother?" he murmured, thinking out loud. "Then… you know me?"

Al had taken another step forward when Ed wasn't looking. "Yes, I know you. I know more about you than anyone else in the whole world." Edward looked intrigued, and sat back down on the desk, putting him and Al at eye height. "Tell me."

And Al told him. He began with Risembool, their family and Winry, their father leaving and their mother dying, and then moved to the transmutation which failed, their recovery process and unstoppable training with armor and automail, then Ed becoming a State Alchemist and their missions together. Al described Ed himself, and the people they knew- the people they met and helped on their journey, and the promise they made to each other. It was a very extensive list.

While Al talked, he slowly made his way to the first aid kit (helping Mustang up on the way) then back to Ed, and began to bandage his wounds. The teen allowed it, more interested in his past than what he thought to be a couple of mere wounds.

Hours later, Al finished his tale by describing their last transmutation together.

"We found the way get our bodies back, Brother. We were so excited! It involved a different strand of Alchemy, an older version previously lost to society, instead of using a philosopher's stone. We went to an abandoned warehouse to draw the circle because it was absolutely huge, very intricate. I stood in the middle and you activated the circle from the outside, then I blacked out entirely. When I woke, I was human again… sore, exhausted, and… alone. You were gone, Brother… you just disappeared into thin air. That was months ago; I've been trying to find you, and so has Winry. We worked alongside Colonel Mustang and the team, even though we weren't supposed to, but the Colonel let us anyway. And now, we've found you!" Al finished with a smile, breathing hard from his long, seemingly endless tale. All three were sitting down, Al and Mustang in the two chairs facing the desk, and Ed on the desk itself. The teen was silent for a moment, thinking deeply to himself about everything he'd just heard.

"Thank you for telling me… Al," Ed glanced at the teen in the chair, and after a moment, graced him with a small smile. Al's heart soared- he could still make his brother smile! Mustang and Al both thought that Ed's smile would be terrifying with those long, dangerous fangs, but instead it wasn't scary at all. In fact, Ed's smile still lit up the room, like he always used to, making the recipient feel warm and loved. It was an amazing feeling, managing to get a smile from the troubled teen, and Al and Mustang hadn't had that feeling in months. It made Al feel like he was home, after all this time. No one really thought a smile could be that powerful, or that important, but a smile can mean the world, and when it came to the Elric brothers everything was extraordinary.

"Anytime!" Al beamed, tearing up a little and generally being overly happy. Ed raised an eyebrow at the easily excited teen. Mustang chuckled under his breath, disguising it as a cough when the two brothers looked at him.

"Well, Fullmetal," Mustang glanced at the young alchemist (who now looked more like a mummy rather than a corpse), "Now that you know about your past, perhaps you can tell us what happened to you over the past few months?"

"Yeah, Brother. What happened to you?" Al queried.

Ed blinked. "Oh… right. Well, I'm a vampire."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: First off, thanks for taking the time to read Night Eyes! I hope you're all enjoying it. XD Secondly, I have a question for all of you. When I have this story in Word, I have lines going across the page (you know, the ones to represent a different scene or a time difference) but when I upload the document, the lines vanish, and it makes it hard to tell when I'm going from one scene to the next. Can anyone tell me how to keep those lines after I upload the document? Just pm me or answer in a review. Thanks!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello, my fellow readers/authors! I just realized that I haven't put a disclaimer on this story, so:**

**I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist/Brotherhood or the characters within. All rights go to their respective owners. This disclaimer applies to every chapter of this story.**

**Also, special thanks to jantolover16026 for telling me how to put in those lines :) Now for the next chapter of Night Eyes!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 4-<strong>

"A vampire…" sighed Mustang. "We thought so. How is that even possible?"

"And how come you have all those injuries, Brother?" Al chimed in.

"And what about the murders?" Mustang finally asked, gazing at Ed with serious eyes. Edward gave him a puzzled look.

"What murders?" Edward asked, confused. Silence fell over the room as Al and Mustang both stared at Ed, stunned. He didn't know?

Suddenly Ed was no longer sitting on the desk, but had moved to stand on the window ledge using a speed too fast for the human eye to see. His soulless golden eyes narrowed.

"Brother?" Al inquired, but before he could say anything more Ed turned and ran past them, out the door. The two gasped as he ran past- Al was sure he was about to die, and yet, he was frozen in place. Mustang also couldn't move, but he was expecting this to happen since Edward had done the exact same thing last night. So Mustang was not freaking out like Al was; he knew Ed wouldn't kill them. And just like that, Ed was gone, again.

"Wh-wha-what?" Al looked like he was about to pass out or something.

Mustang quickly sat him down on a chair and said, "Don't worry; he did that last night as well. And the feeling wears off eventually." Al just gulped, wondering if he was about to be sick. Meanwhile, Mustang was deep in thought. Edwa- Fullmetal didn't know about the murders?

_I have to stop calling him Edward. I should call him by his title, Fullmetal… but every time I see him I just forget and call him Edward again. Oh, well, I suppose it doesn't matter._

But still, how could Fullmetal not know about the murders? Mustang supposed that he didn't go out in the daytime, so he wasn't going to see a newspaper or a television or anything like that. The more he thought about it, the more Mustang supposed it could happen.

"I suppose we'd better inform the others about this," the young Colonel sighed. "What time is it?"

Al, who had calmed down a little, checked the office clock behind Mustang's head. "Just after 1 am. Wait, didn't we see Brother at 1 am yesterday too?"

"Hmm… I guess so. Alright, let's round up the rest of my team and regroup." Mustang reached for the phone.

* * *

><p>"Whataya mean, he didn't know? He has to know, he did it!" Breda insisted. Everyone looked at Breda; he was acting strangely again.<p>

"If the Colonel and Al say that Ed didn't know about the murders, then he didn't know. Simple as that," Hawkeye told Breda firmly.

"Well, he was probably just acting, and all you idiots are falling for it!" Breda scowled.

Havoc nearly punched him. "Come on, man, back off!" Breda fell silent, glaring at everyone sulkily.

"Wait, so… this means that we haven't made any progress at all! We're back at square one- we still don't know anything about the murderer!" Fuery looked kind of upset, and no one blamed him. They'd been on this case for months, and had been given false hope of solving it. It was slightly depressing.

"I want to see Ed," Winry sighed, and everyone noticed her sad expression. That was until she continued with, "… so I can hit him with my wrench! I can't believe he made me worry like that for so long!"

Al sweatdropped. "I'm sure you'll see him soon. We'll probably see him tomorrow."

* * *

><p>"You definitely jinxed it!" Havoc's voice floated through the thin walls of HQ. Mustang glanced up momentarily, before returning to signing papers again, bored as hell.<p>

"Yes you did, Al! It's been a whole week!" That was Fuery's voice now. Mustang sighed- the arguments of his subordinates (and Al) had gotten him thinking about the very topic he was trying to avoid by doing paperwork. It had been one week since anyone had seen Fullmetal.

Where the hell did that kid run off to now? His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Come in," he called. The door swung open and a beautiful young lady entered the room.

"Here are the folders you requested, sir," she said, putting a lustful emphasis on the word sir. She placed the folders on Mustang's desk, leaning over far more than was strictly necessary. Mustang smiled at her charmingly… and found that he was tired, bored and irritated, and generally not in the mood.

"Thanks, Sylvia," he gave her an apologetic smile. She understood.

"Bad day, Colonel?" she asked.

Mustang scoffed. "More like a bad week."

Sylvia pouted playfully. "All right, then. Let's skip this week, shall we?" She laughed and kissed his cheek. Mustang was glad that she understood without being offended.

"Thanks again," he called as she walked out the door. She winked at him and left.

Mustang scanned through the files without interest, but was once again interrupted.

"Colonel Mustang!" the familiar voice called from behind him. Said Colonel jumped a mile and swung around, thinking, how the hell did he get in here?

It was Fullmetal, all right. Once again, he was injured beyond belief, except that he didn't seem at all affected by the pain.

"Fullmetal? You're injured again! And how are you here, it's the middle of the day!" Mustang gasped.

"I wasn't going to say anything, but since you asked, the sun doesn't hurt me. It's just too fucking hot and bright," Edward replied. He was annoyed, but not at Mustang. "Look, when that kid Al was talking the other day, he was talking about saving human lives and stuff like that. Is that important to you?"

Mustang was slightly confused, but quickly answered, "Of course. That's our job, to protect people's lives. Why?"

"Because a whole lot of people are about to die," Edward answered, sending a chill down Mustang's spine.

But then Mustang went into Colonel Mode. "How, when and where?"

"A bomb, in around an hour, at the Central Dain Square," Edward told him.

Central's Dain Square was the best shopping hotspot in the country- people would travel to Central from other _countries_ to visit the exquisite shops. Only the best of the best produce was ever sold there. There would be hundreds, if not thousands, of people there.

Mustang jumped to his feet. "Are you sure?" he demanded.

"Of course I'm sure!" Fullmetal snapped.

"Lieutenant!" Mustang yelled. Hawkeye immediately burst through the door.

"Sir!" She noticed Edward and gasped. "_Ed?_"

"Focus, Lieutenant! A bomb has been placed in Dain Square. It must be located and dealt with immediately!" Mustang cut her off, already on the phone to call a bomb squad in.

"Yes sir," she nodded, already out the door and informing the rest of the team.

"Fullmetal, where exactly is the bomb in the Square?" Mustang asked swiftly.

"Some mechanic shop… Automail 1#, I think," he answered. Mustang's eyes widened.

"Shit!" he exclaimed, "That's-" He stopped to listen to someone on the other line, before giving the details out to the officer on the other end. Edward began to climb back out the window; after all, he wasn't needed, and that was his good deed for the day.

"Oh, no you don't," the Colonel said, grabbing Ed's arm before he could leave. "You're coming with us."

"What?" Edward shouted, as Mustang dragged him along into the outer office where everyone else was. Suddenly, the somewhat anti-social vampire was affronted by four complete strangers.

"Ed?" they all exclaimed.

He scowled at them, "Who the hell are you guys?"

"That's Fuery, the smoker is Havoc, this is Falman and that's Breda," Hawkeye announced speedily, handing out protection vests to everyone (including Ed).

"And who are you?" he wondered, pulling the vest over his head and clicking it around his waist. It fit him exactly, which surprised him until he remembered he used to work here.

"That's Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye," Al said. Everyone had forgotten he was standing in the corner, and Hawkeye threw him a vest.

"All right, let's move out!" Mustang ordered, hanging the phone up. "And remember, this is a special mission!"

"It is? How?" Fuery asked.

"It's special because the shop where the bombs' placed is called Automail 1#," the Colonel informed them. Everyone in the room gasped in unison except Ed, who didn't know the significance of what had just been announced.

"And…" Ed hinted for him to continue.

Havoc turned to him. "That's where Winry works."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5-**

The stifling silence was quickly becoming unbearable. Breda, Havoc, Falman and Fuery were all staring unashamedly at Ed; even Hawkeye was watching him out of the corner of her eye. Mustang was driving, to everyone's horror, speeding through lights and going up on sidewalks in order to reach their destination as soon as humanly possible. Other cars saw his reckless driving almost before they heard the screeching sirens that the military car was producing, and never ceased to move out of his way.

"Why don't other cars ever move like that for me?" Havoc mumbled under his breath, but no-one noticed.

Breda was giving Ed a look that was even stranger than the stares coming from everyone else, but Ed was determinedly ignoring them all. He was already irritated by the sun, and was just _waiting_ for someone to speak so that he could snap at them. Unfortunately, when someone finally did speak, it was the only person in the entire world Ed couldn't snap at.

"Brother, you're all injured again," Al murmured, moving to inspect the severe wounds, but Ed pulled away. He didn't want anyone to touch him again.

"Ed?" Hawkeye asked firmly. He stared at her coldly until she backed off, and he heard Fuery gulp nervously.

"Here's the plan, soldiers!" Mustang interrupted, tires squealing indignantly at he sped up, causing the officers to pale slightly. "The shop will already be taped off and out of range for civilians when we arrive. Falman, you'll be giving the bomb squad advice on what type of bomb it is and how to disarm it from the outside. Fuery, Breda and Havoc, you guard that shop and make sure no civilians get in. Hawkeye and I will enter the shop and help the team handle the device. Alphonse, since you're not an officer you can't come in; so I want you to find Winry and get her to safety. And take Fullmetal with you!"

"Yes sir!" they replied in unison, except for Ed, who just rolled his eyes in annoyance.

Mustang skidded to a stop at the entrance to Dain Square, and the officers leaped into action. They worked flawlessly as one unit, completely trusting the others to do their jobs and do them well. They'd rehearsed as many possible situations as they could think of, and consequently everyone knew exactly what to do.

Meanwhile, Al managed to grab Ed's sleeve and lead him out into the excited crowd, all of whom were crowed as close to Automail 1# as they could get. The crowd went on for miles, as far as the eye could see. Ed pulled his hood up, over his eyes and hair, to avoid being recognised; but mostly the two boys were overlooked in favour of watching the military officers in action.

"Winry!" Al shouted, desperately attempting to be heard over the chatter of the immense crowd, but to no avail- his voice was completely drowned out. So Al raced along, dragging a reluctant Ed behind him, searching for the one he cared about who was currently in danger.

* * *

><p>Mustang and Hawkeye were standing in front of a code red bomb. Hawkeye was describing the deadly device to Falman, who used the knowledge to identify the bomb's inner workings, so that he could tell the bomb squad exactly what type it was when they arrived. Mustang's presence wasn't really needed; however, he always overlooked the missions of his subordinates physically. If any of them were to be in danger, he couldn't help them over the phone, could he? So he always came along. This practise was the exception rather than the rule in the military- generally the leader of a unit gave orders from over the phone, from either Headquarters or a safe distance away from the danger.<p>

Mustang lifted his gaze from the device when he heard loud arguing coming from the back room of the shop. Curious, he entered the room to find the very girl Al was searching for.

"This is _my_ shop, and _my_ property! I'm not just going to leave and let you imbeciles ransack it!" Winry shouted furiously, brandishing her wrench. Some poor, rookie soldier was attempting to appease her wrath, but instead had to keep ducking under the weapon. Mustang felt amused, despite the dire situation.

"Winry Rockbell, leave that poor man alone," Mustang intervened, to the young man's relief. He quickly saluted the Colonel and fled the room.

"Those idiots were going through my things! What the hell is going on here anyway?" Winry demanded, turning to Mustang.

"Someone placed a bomb in your shop, Winy," he replied seriously, watching the blonde's reaction. Winry blinked and opened her mouth to answer, but nothing came out.

Mustang smirked and continued, "The bomber was hoping that, by placing it among your mechanical environment, it would go unnoticed. Your shop is directly in the middle of Dain Square, so the bomb would… get more people when it went off."

Winry hesitated, "Oh…" Mustang quickly gestured for her to follow and they exited the room, to find that the bomb squad had arrived. Hawkeye joined them and the three went outside.

"Winry!" someone to their left called out ecstatically, and they looked over to see Al slipping expertly through the crowd, dragging a hooded stranger behind him. "You're okay!"

"Yeah, Colonel Mustang found me," Winry shrugged. She gazed interestedly at the stranger behind Al and curiously inquired, "Who's that?"

Al reached over a pulled Ed's hood back a bit, just enough for Winry to see his face. Edward slapped his hand away- his mood was decreasing with every second that passed. He just wanted to go sleep in his cool, dark room, where he was alone. Instead, he was frying under the burning sun, surrounded from every angle by people he didn't know, and this kid he'd just met a week ago kept touching him. And now, here was another stranger he'd have to put up with. Ed scowled menacingly at the girl.

Winry gasped when she saw Ed. Mostly from surprise, but one slight part came from fear. She stumbled back a step, eyes never leaving his pale face. Mustang began to wonder if he'd regret making Fullmetal come.

"Ed? Is… is that really you?" she whispered, barely audible above the crowd's incessant chatter. It was a valid question- Ed didn't look the same as before. His skin was pure white; his fangs were visible in his mouth and just for an instant, Winry thought she saw his golden eyes melt away to a crimson colour. Her eyes widened involuntarily.

"Finally," came a low voice behind the group. They turned to face the intruder, only to discover it was Breda.

"Breda? What are you doing, you need to keep the crowd back!" Hawkeye ordered.

Breda's eyes burned unnaturally, an evil glint to them. "You took your time getting here, pipsqueak!"

Ed's eyes flashed red again. He pinned Breda to a nearby wall with one hand around his neck, inhumanly fast and strong. Breda's feet dangled off the ground. The overwhelming crowd never even noticed- all their attention was locked onto the shop containing the bomb squad.

"Do you have a death wish?" Ed hissed, but Breda grinned insanely.

"Not really. You know, I planned to fight you once you reached this place, but I figured since I hate fighting I should just **make** you follow me," Breda answered, his voice sounding different. Ed threw him to the ground a couple of metres away, resisting the urge to kill him. Breda sprang to his feet, jumped into the air and agilely flipped a couple of times to land behind to Al, getting the teenager into a stranglehold. Al fought back, but he couldn't move enough to hit the man.

Breda then began to change- a line of white-ish light swiftly travelled from his feet up to his head. The person who now stood in Breda's place had long, dark green hair and deep amethyst eyes, a tall, thin figure with well-defined muscles. He wore a strange outfit and a cocky, arrogant grin.

"Envy!" Mustang, Hawkeye and Winry all yelled at once. Al re-doubled his efforts to get free, but still had no room to manoeuvre enough to attack. Ed watched on interestedly from the side.

"Now," the shape-shifter began, grinning menacingly, "little Al here is coming with me. If you ever want to see him again, Pipsqueak, you'll find me and we'll have a little chat." As Envy spoke, he stabbed a long syringe into Al's neck, knocking the teen out immediately. Then Envy slung an unconscious Al over his shoulder, gave one last insane grin, and vanished into the crowd.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6-**

"What do we do?" Fuery panicked. "That crazy psychopath has Alphonse!" The rest of the team felt the same panic and turmoil inside; everyone loved Al. He was like everyone's favourite little brother.

Hawkeye had ordered for everyone to go home after the incident with Envy. She knew that they could never follow Envy through the crowd, and that the person with the best chance of finding Al was Ed- who's anger had been about to snap, after being in the sun all day. Hawkeye decided for everyone to just go home and then meet back at the office at night, which was exactly what they had done, except for Winry.

Hawkeye hadn't actually told her they were meeting tonight, so Winry had stayed in her and Al's apartment tonight. Without Winry, the officers could talk freely about methods to rescue Al. It was kind of mean, but it had to be done. She just hoped Ed would come back as well- it wouldn't be surprising if he didn't. They had constantly put him in circumstances where he was either uncomfortable or annoyed. No-one said it aloud, but everyone was thinking it. What if Ed didn't return? How where they going to get Al back if he didn't?

"I'm also worried about Breda," Falman said unexpectedly. "The _real_ Breda. What did Envy do to him…?" Fuery fell silent, along with Havoc, Hawkeye and Mustang. They hadn't thought of that before. A clock from the west wall chimed one o'clock into the silence.

"At least we know it was planned," Havoc said finally. The others looked at him and he hastily clarified, "I mean the bomb. Envy wanted to lure Ed to Dain Square so he could fight him, but in the end he just decided to kidnap Al instead in order to get what he wanted… but I'll bet Envy put that bomb there."

"I'm guessing that all of the homunculus are putting this plan in motion, not just Envy," Mustang said. "It's a bit too intricate for his style…"

A new voice spoke from behind Mustang. "I've seen him." Hawkeye and Mustang turned around, while Havoc, Fuery and Falman looked up to the doorway of the inner office. Everyone but Mustang gasped; the Colonel had seen this sight before. Blood ran from the side of Ed's mouth, down his neck and shirtfront, making his clothes wet. There was no mistaking that it was human blood. Ed had his mouth closed at the moment, but everyone could tell his fangs where there. To top it all off, all of Edward's wounds had healed. They'd just vanished.

"Seen who?" Mustang asked, since he was apparently the only one capable of talking.

"The person with green hair. The one you were referring to," Ed casually wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"When did you see him, Ed?" Hawkeye was the first to recover.

"He follows me when I go find someone to eat," Ed said, causing everyone to grimace at his choice of words. "I only see him sometimes, but I know he follows every night. I just can't find him most of the time."

"Why the hell would Envy follow you?" Mustang queried, hiding his confusion.

"Because he takes the people after I'm done with them," Ed shifted on the doorframe he was leaning against.

"**Do you kill people**?" Fuery blurted, unable to contain his horrification any longer. He was disturbed at Ed's appearance, and the implications behind it.

Ed looked at Fuery coolly. "Only if they annoy me." Fuery shrunk back into the chair he was sitting on.

Hawkeye gave Ed a look, asking him to continue. "When I leave a person, they are unconscious but alive. When Envy leaves them, they are dead," Ed put it simply.

"So Envy's the murderer!" Havoc realised aloud. Everyone suddenly looked a little happier- they'd finally made progress on the case!

"That's beside the point!" Fuery suddenly spoke forcefully, unlike his usual happy-go-lucky tone. The other officers looked at him, shocked. Fuery stood up and asked miserably, "What about Al and Breda? They're in trouble! And he's the reason for it! Not only that, but he's attacking people!" Fuery was yelling by now, glaring at Ed. He couldn't help but think of the worst case scenario, and that ended with two of his best friends being tortured and killed by the insane sin. Fuery was tense, focusing his anger on the only one he could blame; Edward.

"What do you want me to do about it, huh?" Ed asked him, meeting Fuery's emotional rage with an icy tone and cold, soulless eyes. Fuery hesitated, his anger quickly running out.

"You think I wanted to be like this? Feeding off people to live, causing a burden on everyone? _**Do you think I wanted this?**_" Ed narrowed his eyes, and for the first time, Mustang's team could see a spark of the old Ed in his eyes. The Edward who'd do anything to protect the people of Amestris, who was always strong so he wouldn't be a burden on anyone else.

Silence fell on the room once again. Fuery now seemed closer to tears than rage, and everyone had stood up during the tension. Fuery was the youngest of their team- he'd never been to war or anything like that. It made sense for him to break down when two of his best friends could already be dead. Ed had an unreadable expression on his face. After a moment, Mustang grabbed Ed by the arm, causing him to hiss slightly, and dragged the teen to his inner office, shutting the door.

"Calm down, Fullmetal," Mustang ordered, concerned. Fullmetal's eyes had gone a bloody red, a crimson that covered all over his pupils and the whites of his eyes. Mustang didn't want Fullmetal to snap and kill someone- the Colonel knew, deep in his heart, that Fullmetal hadn't taken anyone's life.

The teen scowled at him, but the ruby colour of his eyes receded a little. Mustang promptly decided to try and figure out what had happened to him in the months after Al got his body back.

"Fullmetal… Edward, what happened to you? That made you become like this?" Mustang inquired softly.

The boy scowled even deeper. "Don't ask me that when you already know!"

"No, I don't know. Tell me, Edward," Mustang gazed into his crimson eyes until Ed sighed and looked away.

"That transmutation that kid talked about… Alphonse or whatever his name was… it had a price. You're an alchemist, you should know!" Ed glared at an innocent wall.

"A price? I mean, of course every transmutation has a price, but I thought you two figured that out! With the strand of alchemy that you brothers recovered…" Mustang replied, furrowing his brow. Ed just kept on glaring at the wall.

Mustang sighed. "What price did you pay? You haven't lost any more limbs… in fact, you received your arm and leg back after that transmutation. You don't cough up blood because of lost organs and you're still as intelligent as ever, so you still have your mind. So what the heck did you give?"

Edward shifted his glare to Mustang. "Oh, come on. Like you haven't already guessed! What's the one thing you can take from a human that will result in them forming into a vampire? The one thing you can take that will force them to consume the life essence of other people in order to live? The one thing you can take, that will cause that human to lose his memory of his past life? _That one thing that I gave up for some kid that I don't even know!_"

Mustang's eyes widened. No way… that couldn't possibly be what Ed gave up for Al, could it?

"Edward…" Mustang swallowed, horrified. "You do know Al. He's your little brother, remember?"

Ed suddenly gave a bitter, humourless laugh. "If I remembered, do you think I'd be here right now? I'm not giving up anything else for a stranger! You people can find your friends on your own." Edward moved to leave.

Mustang caught his arm again, preventing the teen from going. "We can help you! We'll help you get your memory back, your brother back and… and we'll help you get _it_ back too. Just let us help!"

Mustang ducked under Edward's sudden kick. "Just fuck off!" Ed snarled, "I don't need your help and I certainly don't want it! I'm fine as I am!"

"No, you're not," Mustang yelled. "You even said so yourself- ugh!" Mustang stumbled back a step, releasing Edward after he landed a kick to Mustang's stomach. A sudden, strong wind blew, and the teenager vanished.

"Sir!" Hawkeye burst through the door after hearing sounds of a fight. She put a hand on Mustang's shoulder, with him still doubled over. Ed kicking him was like being hit in the stomach with a truck. Hawkeye looked around, but Ed was gone.

"Hawkeye… I know what's… wrong with him. I know… what he gave up… in order for Alphonse… to get his body back," Mustang wheezed. He looked at his lieutenant, straightening slightly so they were at eye level.

"_He gave up his soul..._"


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7-**

Edward ran across roofs of houses, tops of streetlights and telephone poles, jumping from one to another in a wild effort to put as much distance between him and those humans as possible. He knew he was going too fast for any humans to see him, so he didn't bother staying in the shadows like usual. Mustang didn't know how right he was; Edward wasn't fine like he was. Not stuck halfway like he was.

**Don't think about that!**

Ed shook his head violently, trying to rid himself of those destructive thoughts. He didn't need them. Instead, he began to think of when he was going to eat next, but his thoughts quickly drifted from that topic. What he really thought about was Alphonse… the boy who acted so nice to everyone, and so naturally and at ease with him personally. Every other human tensed when he entered the vicinity, whether he knew them or not. Mostly this was from instinctive fear- vampires and humans couldn't mix. But Alphonse, the one they called his brother, didn't do anything like that. It intrigued Ed; it was like he was completely fearless. But now, that kid was in trouble.

Ed didn't exactly have memories, but he did get feelings from his past life- drifting feelings that affected his actions. The feeling he got from Alphonse confused him. It was almost like he wanted to… look out for him, or… he didn't want Alphonse to get hurt. Like Ed wanted to… protect him? Nah, that couldn't possibly be right. You can't protect someone if you don't have a soul. But whatever the feeling was, it _did_ make him want to rescue the kid from that weird homunculus. Ed wondered if he should go and get him.

Edward slowed his headlong pace as he reached his destination. The building in front of him was a diminutive, aged hut out in the urban districts of Central. There were no humans around for miles. He entered the empty hut, brushing off some dust from his shoulder where he'd accidently bumped into the wall of the hut. He slid his foot along the floor, searching for one particular spot. Then Edward felt it- a tiny switch, hidden along a crack in the floor. He used his foot to flick it, and watched as part of the floor retracted to reveal a hidden trapdoor covering some stairs. He ignored the stairs and jumped down the hole in the floor, landing effortlessly on his feet some three stories down.

There were guards at the corner of the hallway he was in, the same two that hadn't moved since Edward started living there. They nodded to him as he passed, and the younger of the two smiled at Ed, revealing his fangs. Ed gave him a half-wave of his shoulder and moved on. He knew these halls well, despite the fact that there were thousands of underground tunnels that often went for kilometres at a time.

He passed many other vampires as he travelled- some were young like him, some were hundreds of years old, and there were even some who had been created at the start of time. All of them fell silent as he passed, but he was used to it, and ignored them all. Eventually, with the aid of his vampire speed he reached the room he could call his own. They weren't really one room, but rather four or five connected rooms where one person lived. This particular hallway was a shadowy white, and was mostly empty, since there was only himself and one other occupant. Said occupant opened his door as Edward entered the hallway.

"Hey, Edward! You're back!" the bespectacled man called cheerfully. He didn't really need glasses; they were just an old habit.

"Yeah," muttered Ed, "and before you ask, I didn't see Elysia or Gracia!"

The other vampire, known as Hughes, sighed overdramatically. "Aw, too bad. Did you go see your brother and Roy again?"

"What makes you think I want to talk to you now?" Ed snapped.

"You're still mad? I didn't think you'd hold such a grudge, Ed! Besides, it wasn't my fault," Hughes protested, following Edward into his room.

"Not your fault? So, then you _didn't_ choose to not tell me about my past, or my 'friends', or my 'brother' when I first came here?" Ed fumed. He glared when he realised Hughes had followed him into his room.

"I'm really sorry, Ed. I was forbidden to tell you about your past unless you figured it out yourself, those are the rules!" Hughes actually did look remorseful. Ed sighed, annoyed.

"Whatever," Ed threw himself on his bed. Since they were underground, there was no need for coffins, although some vamps did have them. It was a matter of preference.

"You should go visit my two beautiful girls! And, you should take a picture of them both for me. In fact, take lots of photos!" Hughes fawned happily.

"No!" Ed snapped. "If you want to see them and take photos, go up and see them yourself!"

Hughes abruptly got serious. "Come on, Ed. You're the only one who ever goes up there to the humans. You know you're making the rest of us a bit uneasy because of that, right?"

Ed scoffed. "They'll live. I don't care if they ignore me for the rest of eternity. I'll do what I want to do."

Hughes sighed. "I thought you'd say that. Well, how did it go with your old friends?"

Ed told him, leaving out the bits about him wanting to protect Alphonse.

"What do you mean, you're not going to go rescue your little brother and Breda? The hell you are! Go get them both right now!" Hughes exclaimed, shoving Ed towards the exit. Edward nearly fell off the bed as a result.

"Too late, it's morning." Ed could generally tell what time it was by judging on his want to sleep. If he wanted to sleep, then it was daytime; if not, then it was night.  
>Hughes raised an eyebrow. "You went out at daytime yesterday, judging by what the others told me."<p>

Ed just rolled over. "Special occasion." He didn't mention overhearing the information about the homunculus placing the bomb to Hughes; Edward had already figured out that it was a trap.

"And this isn't a special occasion?" Hughes was really pushing for Ed to go. Ed wondered exactly how strong the bond between Al and him had been, to elicit this sort of response from Hughes.

"Look," Ed sighed, "If it really means that much to you, I'll go rescue those two." Hughes' face lit up happily, before falling again at Ed's next sentence.

"Tomorrow night, I'll go rescue them. But not now. See, you got what you wanted. So get the hell out of my room!" Ed shoved Hughes out of his room and slammed the door behind him. Ed didn't notice the vexed expression on Hughes face as the older vampire wondered if they would survive for that long.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Sorry if this chapter was a bit filler-ish, but it's important to the story, I swear. And besides, I gave you all a treat at the end! :D **

**IMPORTANT NOTICE ABOUT UPDATES! I have good news and bad news. Some people might have already noticed that I update Night Eyes every Wednesday and Sunday. If you noticed, you get cookies! :D The bad news is that, unfortunately, I can't update next Wednesday (the 16****th****), next Sunday (the 20****th****) or the Wednesday after that (the 23****rd****). That's because I need a week to study and then I have exam block, so I can't update on those days. Also, don't be surprised if I can't update on the Sunday (27****th****) after that. The good news is that after those two weeks I'll be on holidays, and updates will probably double. XD**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey, I'm back! I'm still alive after my exams. Since I haven't updated in like two weeks, I'm giving you all a treat. This chapter is twice as long as normal- it's basically two chapters in one. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><em>Summary:<em>

_Ed and Al performed a transmutation to get their bodies back, but Ed paid for it with his soul, which also caused the loss of his memories. He was turned into a vampire, and was consequently believed to be the cause of recent deaths around Central. Al, Mustang and his team have attempted to gain Edward's trust again, and he informed them of a bomb threat to civilian people. Unfortunately, while they were preventing the bomb (planted by Envy) from blowing up, Al was kidnapped by Envy. Edward refused to go rescue him but was persuaded to by Hughes, who is also a vampire._

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 8-<strong>

Ed woke up gradually, slowly shifting from his dark dream world into the dim, real one. He consulted his want to sleep and found it was almost non-existent. It must be night time. He yawned and rolled off his bed before throwing on a different set of clothes and leaving his rooms. Ed didn't want to still be out in the morning- he wanted this cute little rescue mission to be over and done with as soon as possible. However, just because he wanted this to be fast didn't mean he was going to do all the work himself, especially when there was a team of five perfectly capable humans who were willing to practically do it for him. Ed swiftly left for the military headquarters in Central.

* * *

><p>Mustang, Hawkeye and Havoc were all working after hours at the office. Falman and Fuery were working as well- they were off in the research department, trying to determine possible locations where Al and Breda could be, and Winry had volunteered to go as well. This meant that Mustang, Hawkeye and Havoc had to pick up the slack, and it was increasingly difficult to work when two of their friends were in danger. But the real reason that those three were waiting around in the office wasn't really about paperwork- they knew that if Ed were to change his mind, this would be where he came. They didn't know exactly how right their assumptions were.<p>

Hawkeye was the first to encounter the teenager again- she was fetching a huge stack of papers that needed signing from the inner office when Ed casually swung through the window. For a moment the two stared at each other in silence, before Hawkeye smiled slightly.

"Thanks for coming back," she nodded to him, but he just shrugged, unwilling to comment. "Edward's here!" she called out to her colleagues, walking through to the outer office with the papers, Ed following behind.

"Finally, now we can start! What the hell took you so long? We lost a whole day because of you!" Mustang frowned at Fullmetal, who looked bored. In truth, he was just angry over the fact that Ed had managed to 'defeat' him with just a single kick. Mustang hadn't been able to move properly for hours yesterday.

"Look, if you don't want to know where your buddies are, just keep talking," Edward said coolly. The three military officers instantly whipped their heads around to face him.

"You know where they are?" Havoc interrogated, anxious to know.

Edward hummed in agreement. "If you don't come right now, you'll lose your opportunity. Do you want to wait another day?"

Mustang swiftly ordered Havoc to fetch the others, and Edward scoffed.

"What?" Mustang snapped.

"You didn't listen to a word I just said. By the time you get those other humans, you'll lose your opportunity." Ed approached the door, intending to leave without them. Hawkeye and Havoc stared at Mustang, who hesitated.

"…Alright, leave them behind," Mustang made a split second decision, hoping it was the right one. He never wanted to leave any of his team behind, but Breda and Al simply couldn't wait another day. Hawkeye looked at Mustang sternly before she ran after Edward, and Havoc and Mustang followed her.

The group ran swiftly through the building, although Ed found their pace annoyingly slow and remained a good couple of meters ahead of them. He reached the military basement and progressed through the rooms, quickly finding the one he wanted. It blended into the wall oddly, and was impossible to find if you didn't already know it was there. He arrived at the covered wall of the room the furthest away from the door just as it reached 7 p.m. The confused, breathless military officers skidded to a stop behind him. Ed pulled the sheet covering the wall off to reveal the symbol of the homunculus, painted in crimson on the wall.

"What…" Havoc started, but was interrupted as the symbol suddenly glowed menacingly. The four heard the crunch of rusty gears turning from somewhere in the wall, and it slid back, then to the right, revealing a dusty, dim hallway. Ed strolled through casually, as if he did this every day, but the officers hesitated. They weren't prepared for the sorts of situations they might find themselves in, although they did have a set of walkie-talkies, and Mustang did have his gloves and both Hawkeye and Havoc had guns. However, almost as soon as the wall had stopped, it began to move again in the reverse direction, closing. Mustang moved before he had even fully decided what to do- he leapt forward, through the quickly closing gap. Hawkeye immediately followed, with Havoc just behind her, although he almost didn't make it through. The wall rumbled to a stop, once again concealing its secret.

"… An underground passage?" Hawkeye realised out loud, breathing hard.

"That's impossible! It was right in HQ! Right here in the Central Military Base! How did we not know about this?" Mustang demanded.

Ed had already started walking, and he called back over his shoulder, "How else do you expect the Homunculi to sneak in to Central all the time? They had to have a passageway and it happened to be here. But it's timed somehow to only open at 7 o'clock… They have this thing about sevens."

The military officers hurried to catch up to the teen.

"Well you were right about having to come right now, at least," Havoc replied. "If we'd waited for Falman, Fuery and Winry, we never would have made it. You really think Breda and Al are down here?"

"They are," Ed said softly. His abrupt change of tone startled Mustang, Hawkeye and Havoc, who all glanced at each other. Edward knew something they didn't.

The odd group of four walked for so long that it seemed it would never end. The tunnel was long and dim, with dusty walls and a low ceiling. Right when Mustang was about to demand exactly how far they would have to travel, a fork in the tunnel came into view.

"Which way do we go, Ed?" Havoc turned to him.

"I…" Edward's eyes were eerily unfocused. "I hear screams that way." He gestured to the right hand tunnel.

"There are people down there?" Hawkeye frowned.

"I said that I hear screams. I didn't say they were human screams." Ed replied, causing chills to run down the officers' spines, "However, I do indeed believe there are humans down there."

Mustang mused, and then ordered, "Alright, let's go right then."

Edward turned as if in a trance, staring unblinkingly at the left tunnel. "Alphonse is in that tunnel," he pointed at the left one. Abruptly his eyes re-focused as he appeared to be normal once again.

"Are you sure, chief?" Havoc clarified uncertainly.

"Yes," Edward answered shortly, vanishing down the left-hand tunnel.

"Havoc, go with him! Try and find Al, Breda or both and let me know when you do!" Mustang pushed a communicator into Havoc's hands. He saluted and sprinted to catch up with Edward.

"Sir?" Hawkeye wondered, waiting for an order.

"We can't allow the risk of people being imprisoned down here, at the mercy of the homunculi. We at least need to scope out the situation," Mustang told her, turning his own walkie-talkie on. She nodded, and the two of them continued down the right-hand tunnel.

* * *

><p>Havoc tried to keep up with his younger companion, but it appeared like Ed was running in a headlong rush- he had seemingly detected that something was amiss with Alphonse. As they ran, their surroundings quickly changed, at first heading uphill and then altering to seem more like the hallway in any normal house. Soon windows followed, and Havoc caught brief glimpses of Central outside. It was too dark to tell properly, but judging by the outlines of buildings this was an industrial area. In front of him, Edward reached a doorway that appeared to be locked. It didn't stop him- he ran right through it. Havoc swiftly followed, and burst into a wide, open storage room.<p>

Strange machines lined the walls and were placed back-to-back in the middle of the room. They looked a bit too much like torture devices, and Havoc shivered. His surroundings appeared to be void of people, but Edward ran right towards a blocked-off corner and proceeded to punch someone in the face. Havoc glimpsed a guy with long green hair being thrown backwards. _Envy_.

"_Get _your_ filthy _hands off _my little brother!_" Ed shouted furiously, attacking Envy while he spoke and finally kicking him right across the room. The surprise attack combined with Ed's newfound vampire strength and speed made it easy for him to defeat the sin- Envy coughed and tried to keep conscious, but it was difficult. He was so winded and bruised that he couldn't even speak. Luckily for him, Edward ignored him afterwards in order to rush to Al's side.

Havoc was stunned. That was the first real show of emotion Edward had given since he'd lost his soul. He'd looked exactly like his old overprotective self- proper thought had gone straight out the window when Al was in danger. Havoc hadn't thought it was actually possible to _be_ emotional without a soul, but Edward had managed it. Maybe, just maybe… they could help the teen back to the way he was before? Havoc resolved to try. He quickly followed his companion to Al's side.

Al was hooked up to one of the machines, however Havoc couldn't see anything that was hurting him. The boy was unconscious, but alive. Havoc studied the machine more observantly and began to come to the realization of exactly what it did. Needles and connecting tubes were inserted underneath the skin, extracted the natural nutrients the body creates and transferred them into a collecting bag over to the side. If someone were to be hooked up to it long enough, their skin would wither from lack of nutritional material and the person would die. This machine was definitely the reason for all the recent deaths around Central. But why would the Homunculi want to steal people's nutrients? What possible use could that serve?

Ed pulled out various needles and tubes connected to Al, concerned. He also looked hesitant now- he backed off a bit, suddenly unwilling to touch him.

"What's wrong?" Havoc's eyebrows furrowed slightly. They'd reached Al in time- shouldn't Ed be happy that Al was ok?

"I don't… I don't know where that came from, that's… I… it's never happened… before…" Ed spoke haltingly. He appeared to have forgotten Havoc's presence momentarily.

Havoc's eyes widened. Was Edward having trouble dealing with his reaction to Alphonse being in danger? It was possible- Ed always looked like he didn't care. The transaction from completely unconcerned to alarmed and anxious could be troubling for anyone.

"I knew… you'd come… eventually," Envy suddenly wheezed, intervening from his spot across the room. His was halfway up, doubled over in pain with his hands on his knees. He couldn't ever remember being this out of breath before, but at least he'd regained his ability to speak.

"Why did you do this?" Ed seethed, shoving his uncertainties away. He refused to show weakness to this miserable sin.

Envy smirked, but the effect was lost since he was practically disabled for the moment. "We can't just let you stop searching for the philosopher's stone, pipsqueak! I _want_ those stones. So, you're gonna make me more! Unless you want ex-tin can over there to die? Now wouldn't that be a shame." Envy laughed evilly.

Ed fumed. "Fuck you! I AM NOT SHORT, damn it! If you haven't noticed, I can't do alchemy anymore and I don't particularly want to!"

Envy stared. "…What?" he hissed menacingly.

"You heard me, palm tree! I can't make your stupid stones because-" Ed suddenly bit his tongue.

Envy's facial expression was a cross between enraged and mystified, but Havoc knew why Edward couldn't perform alchemy anymore. He'd heard Colonel Mustang talk about it- alchemy came from the soul.

"Besides, exactly who just kicked who's ass?" Edward changed the subject in his favour.

Envy scowled. "You caught me off guard!" he muttered. "I couldn't see you coz you're too low to the ground! Besides, you'll never get past the other six, ya tiny brat!"

Havoc saw Ed snap.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING MICROSCOPIC DROP OF WATER WHO DOESN'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT BEING EVAPORATED COZ HE'S TOO SMALL TO BE CALLED A PROPER WATER MOLECULE?" Ed yelled at him, simmering in anger.

Envy chuckled, mocking the teen, but he had pissed Edward off for the last time. The teen growled and bared his fangs without realising, attacking the homunculus in a rage. Havoc watched as Edward and Envy began to fight. However, a something soon distracted Edward. He furiously knocked Envy out and covered his ears in annoyance.

"What the hell is that?" he glowered in Havoc's direction. Havoc abruptly realised his walkie-talkie was receiving a message from Hawkeye.

"Havoc! Come in, Havoc! Do you copy?" Hawkeye repeated urgently. Ed scowled at the static sound it made.

"Hawkeye, we've found Alphonse. He's unconscious, but he's alive!" Havoc ignored protocol and just told her joyfully.

"Good. Havoc, we need you with us. Here. Now. Mustang says for Edward to take Al back out to the tunnel- he doesn't want anyone injured in the danger range." Hawkeye sounded hassled, rushing under pressure. Something was off about her tone of voice.

Havoc could tell something was wrong. "Alright, I'll be right there. Over and out." He pocketed his communicator and turned to the teenager. "Edward-"

"Yeah, I heard," he muttered, ignoring his unwillingness to touch Al. He prepared to throw Al over his shoulder.

Havoc instantly stopped him. "Geez, chief, what are you doing? You can't just treat an injured person roughly like that! Be more careful!"

Edward rolled his eyes, but picked his brother up carefully this time. Havoc sighed and hurried back to the fork in the tunnel, this time taking the right-hand side.

This tunnel was opposite to the other one- instead of ascending into a normal building, it headed downhill, the earthy walls gradually replaced with shiny, reflective steel. Eventually Havoc arrived at a door, made of four foot thick steel. The door's lock sported a bullet hole and the door itself was hanging ajar. Havoc smiled slightly at Hawkeye's handiwork. As Havoc entered, he noticed an extensive slash on the door, going nearly all the way through it.

"What the hell…?" Havoc studied it momentarily, mystified. After a moment, he remembered Mustang and Hawkeye needed him and hurried along the underground steel corridor.

It was now that he began to hear the screams. Horrifying, agonized screams. Some sounded human, while others… not so much. He shivered slightly. Havoc came to another fork, with the choice of going forward, left or right. Hawkeye was leaning on the wall of the right hallway, looking pale and as if she was in slight shock. Havoc started to speak but Hawkeye shook her head, indicating the need for silence. He nodded and began to follow her. Hawkeye lead him to another door, the same as the first one except with metal bars on both sides. She pushed it open, swiftly moving through and ducking behind a metal restraining table, out of sight. Havoc followed, ensuring that he wouldn't be seen. The room they entered was dark, and the screams were greatly magnified. Havoc peered over the table, and his eyes widened.

Directly opposite him was row after row of cages, filled to bursting point with… things. They were humanoid in shape, but taller and skinnier than a human. Their wax-like skin was paper white and they had no hair. The creatures had disgusting teeth way too long to fit properly in their mouths, and they drooled. Their bodies were misshapen and they looked and acted like zombies. Worst of all, their grey eyes screamed in silent pain, and every so often they would all scream in agony. Havoc felt his limbs grow heavy and refuse to obey him- he simply couldn't move, or even look away.

That wasn't all. Off to one side was another set of cages, this time filled with people, both alive… and dead. Several people were hooked up to machines, screaming never-ending torrents of anguish. It… it was horrible.

"…voc! Havoc! _Havoc!_" hissed Mustang quietly, in the tone of voice which said he had been calling Havoc for quite some time now. Havoc couldn't speak.

"Come on! It isn't safe here!" Hawkeye murmured, pulling the frozen Havoc from his spot, and the three silently continued along behind the debris, out of sight from the other side. Eventually they reached a spot that was covered from all sides by a tarp, which had peek-holes through it. The three would be entirely hidden from sight. From this new viewpoint, Havoc could see four Homunculi standing off to one side, viewing the progress of the inhabitants of the room. He began to listen to their conversation.

"…this should do fine. They are almost ready." A slow, sensual voice spoke, from a woman in a floor-length black dress with a crimson Homunculi symbol tattooed on her chest.

"They won't stand a chance this time. Not with this army," another woman said. She was a brunette with blue eyes.

"That's the point, Sloth. Yo Pride-y, when are we attacking? I want a victory! " a guy replied haughtily. He wore a black outfit with a green vest, and had round sunglasses on despite the dark room.

A man Havoc knew all too well answered- King Fuhrer Bradley. "On the date we discussed, at midday. Oh, and Greed?"

"What?" Greed looked over- just in time to be hit in the face.

Pride calmly dusted the back of his hand off on his military uniform. "Never call me Pride-y again." He turned and strode across the room, exiting by a different door to the left, and Sloth followed.

Greed hissed in pain- he hadn't had the time to produce his shield properly.

"Well, I'd better get back to it as well. Gluttony will be hungry… I need to find him a victim to eat," sighed the woman known as Lust. She left as well, and after a moment of cursing and grumbling, Greed also exited the room.

"We need to get back-up before we return," Mustang ordered.

Hawkeye nudged Havoc slightly. "Let's go."

However, something had caught Havoc's attention. After a quick check to make sure no-one was coming, Havoc broke his cover and sprinted over to one of the cages which held the bodies of several unfortunate people, ignoring the quiet protests of his companions. He reached through the bars and pulled out an arm. On it was what caught Havoc's attention- a fancy new watch, with initials engraved on the back. He knew this watch. Havoc pulled with all his strength until the head and shoulders of the body were visible. Mustang and Hawkeye, who had joined him, both gasped almost inaudibly- Havoc felt his mouth go dry and his eyes start to water.

The body was withered and bloody, but the three officers knew exactly who it was.

Havoc spoke the name in a pained and shocked voice. "Breda…"


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9-**

A moment of silence passed between the officers, each with their head bowed, in honour of their fallen friend. Afterwards, Hawkeye looked up.

"We can't stay here…" she spoke quietly but authoritatively. She had learned long ago to trust her instincts, and they were telling her to leave this place immediately.

"We can't leave him here," Havoc retaliated. They both looked at Mustang.

The Colonel thought briefly and answered, "We'll get him and go immediately after."

Havoc and Mustang moved to the entry of the cage. The Colonel couldn't just snap his fingers to burn the lock open- that would cause an explosion, which someone nearby would easily hear. He decided to melt it open, and created a tiny flame which he held up to the lock on the bars. He increased the temperature to around 300 degrees Celsius and waited for the lock to melt away.

Meanwhile, Hawkeye had moved to face all the doorways, so that she had her back facing the backs of the others. She scanned the room repeatedly- they had absolutely no cover, and if anyone were to walk in the group of three would be spotted instantly. She had a bad feeling about this.

Havoc watched as Mustang melted the lock. The Colonel threw the door open, intending to go in first, when suddenly something clicked in Hawkeye's mind. She spun and shouted a warning just as there came a quick flash of something white. Mustang instinctively ducked, and Havoc pushed him out of the way, so that they both landed on opposite sides of the inside of the cage. Mustang groaned painfully.

"Sir?" the other two nearly shouted.

"I've been hit," Mustang scowled at his own carelessness. He'd thought his own instincts were better than that. Havoc understood- the cage had been 'booby-trapped', so to speak. As the door had opened, a shock of electricity seared anything in range. Mustang had been hit on the right leg and arm, but if Havoc and Hawkeye hadn't been there, he probably would have died.

Hawkeye came over to inspect his wounds, eventually helping him to his feet. Mustang staggered a bit, and she put his uninjured left arm over her shoulders so she supported his weight. She could hear him grit his teeth in pain. Havoc had retrieved Breda, and looked exactly like what Mustang and Hawkeye felt- as if he was holding back his grief for his lost friend. This was neither the time nor the place for such things. Havoc silently went on ahead, leaving through the door that they had used to come in, and Hawkeye helped Mustang along at a slower pace.

"Aw, he left," a disappointed voice abruptly spoke. "I wanted to eat him!" Hawkeye didn't even pause- she swung around and shot three times, twice in the head and once where the heart should be. Her opponent looked like a fat, bald man, with shifty little eyes and a hungry smile on a mouth too wide to be considered human. He drooled as his head was thrown back by the force of the bullets, ruby sparks of lightning appearing around his head as he began to heal the supposedly fatal wound using the philosopher's stones. Hawkeye didn't wait for him to heal properly- she sprinted for the exit, eliciting a painful groan from her injured superior.

Hawkeye dragged him along, through all the steel-lined hallways, until she reached the door that lead to the tunnel. Had Gluttony followed her? She was unsure. Further along the tunnel, Hawkeye could see Havoc's outline, carrying their lost comrade out of the enemy's grasp. She had a silencer of her gun- he wouldn't have heard the three gunshots. Mustang and Hawkeye caught up with him just as they reached the fork in the tunnel. Edward was there, leaning against an earthy wall, with Al laid out unconscious on the ground beside him.

"What were you doing?" he asked them as they turned the corner. He fell silent as they came into view and he noticed Breda's body. Suddenly, Hawkeye's eyes narrowed.

"You knew!" she glared at Edward. "When we asked you if Al and Breda were down here, and you said yes- you _knew_ he was dead!" Her accusation was met with nothing but silence. He had known, but… he thought it was better for them to find out on their own. Ed didn't want to get involved.

"You…" Havoc started, but trailed off. He couldn't believe it- not after that glimpse he'd had earlier of the old Edward. The three officers felt betrayed somehow. Edward straightened up, no longer leaning against the wall, and attacked.

He leaped up to gain an overhead advantage and flew right over Hawkeye's head, kicking someone behind her in the face. Hawkeye let out a breath- she had momentarily thought that he was attacking her- and spun around in time to see Gluttony's mouth mere inches from her head, before falling backwards from Ed's abrupt attack. Gluttony actually looked mad.

"You interrupted meal! I'll eat you!" Gluttony frowned, heading this time for Edward.

Unfortunately for him, his bulk couldn't stand against Ed's speed, and Ed was already gone. He jumped over Gluttony's head and landed on the sin's back. Gluttony stupidly attempted to shake the teen off, but Edward opened his mouth, and his fangs were… green? Hawkeye double checked, and decided that they were definitely a dark, menacing green. Ed bit Gluttony on the neck, and immediately let him go afterwards. Hawkeye could see lines of the same ominous, deadly green quickly spreading in Gluttony's veins. Gluttony went limp, staggering forward before falling over. He landed motionless in front of Edward, his skin stained with the sickly emerald colour. Silence filled the room.

"Fullmetal, what did you do?" Mustang asked after a moment. Edward glanced at the Colonel, who was leaning heavily on his lieutenant, agonizing burns covering his most of his right side.

"Put him to sleep," Edward answered shortly.

"… For how long?" Havoc wondered.

Ed glanced away from them. "Until someone figures out how to wake him." He turned and picked up Al before leaving. It was clear he wasn't about to elaborate.

The officers all looked down at Gluttony. They'd never seen anything like it- asleep wasn't the right word at all. He definitely looked dead. Did Edward mean that the sin would be in this half-dead state until he received some sort of antidote? Whatever Edward had done, Gluttony would be disabled for a while at least. If Edward had killed the homunculus, then it would be clear that there were intruders along the right tunnel as well as the left one. However, Gluttony couldn't be left to tell the other homunculi where the officers had been. So Ed sent him to 'sleep'- it made logical sense. Hesitantly, they followed the teen- Hawkeye helping Mustang, and Havoc carrying Breda.

No one spoke until they reached the end of the tunnel. Edward located a lever somewhere and opened the weird sliding door they'd come through earlier, using the lever to bypass the timer on the door. Finally, the odd group of five were left standing in the basement of the military Headquarters.

"We urgently need to report these events. Havoc, take him to level 5," Mustang was referring to Breda, as everyone knew. "Hawkeye-"

"We're going to the infirmary, sir. _Then_ you can make the report, over the phone," Hawkeye said firmly.

Mustang frowned, but didn't object. "Alphonse needs to come to the infirmary too. Fullmetal, you…" He turned to talk to the teen, but after putting Al down, Ed had gone.

* * *

><p>Half an hour later, Mustang had finished both his report and being bandaged up. Falman, Fuery, Hawkeye and Winry had congregated in Mustang's infirmary room, and a moment later Havoc joined them. They had asked for Al to share the room with Mustang- it was easier to see them both that way. Falman, Fuery and Winry were all stunned; they had been surprised when they'd discovered the others had vanished, but the three couldn't believe everything that had happened since then. And of course, the news about Breda… everyone was avoiding the subject, but they all knew. The atmosphere was extremely tense.<p>

Havoc was just finishing what he was saying. "It was really weird- Ed went straight from being all cold and everything, to being exactly like his old, passionate self. He even blew up because Envy called him short, same as always! And then, once he left the room, he went cold and distant again. It's like being in that place, combined with Al being in danger, reverted him right back to the way he was… before." Havoc meant before he lost his soul, but no-one said it.

Winry spoke up, "But this is fantastic! I mean, we've finally made progress getting through to him. I can't stand him being the way he is…"

Fuery looked over to her. "Don't worry, Winry. We'll help him, and soon enough he'll be normal again." He looked slightly guilty- the last time he saw Edward he'd accused him of attacking people and being the reason why Al and Breda were missing. Fuery hadn't had the chance to apologize, and it was weighing on his conscious, especially now that Edward was the reason why Al had been rescued and Breda had been recovered.

"Remember that we have new problems now," Hawkeye replied. "On top of helping Edward, we need to know how those creatures are being created and why the homunculi are making an army of them. Who are they even attacking? We need to know why they are stealing people's nutrients and what they're going to do with them. We also have to figure out what's wrong with Alphonse and how to wake him up. And there are other things, too." She sighed. "It's an endless list."

Fuery excused himself from the conversation and went to get himself a drink. He walked along the hallways of the infirmary, turned a corner, and bumped into the very reason of his dilemma. Edward glanced at the young officer with golden eyes.

"E-Edward?" Fuery asked, startled.

"What?" the teen glared, obviously preparing for a confrontation. It was no wonder why Edward expected Fuery to confront him- he had just eaten, and was once again soaked with blood that was not his own.

Fuery hesitated, eying the teen's appearance, then continued anyway. "I'm, uh, sorry about the other day… when I said you were the reason that Al and Breda were missing. I don't know anything specific about what's happened to you and I can't make that kind of accusation. I was out of line, so… I'm sorry." He bit his lip, wondering what the young vampire would say.

Edward was significantly startled but this turn of events. No-one had ever apologized to him like that before- at least, not in his memory.

"Oh… well, you're forgiven," Ed said dismissively. He could care less about holding a grudge over a matter so unimportant. Fuery was stunned- he had no idea Ed would be that forgiving.

"Where are the other humans?" Edward asked Fuery. "They're not in their usual spot, and all of that disinfectant is preventing me from finding them the usual way."

"I'll show you," Fuery answered, forgetting all about his drink. The two made their way down the hallway to the infirmary room.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10-**

By the time Fuery and Edward made their way to the infirmary room, all the officers had been dismissed and allowed to go home. After all, it was pretty late- or extremely early, depending on the point of view. It was also the first time that anyone had seen Edward actually enter through a door. Fuery took his leave also, leaving Edward, Mustang, an unconscious Al and Hawkeye left in the double infirmary room. Hawkeye had apparently insisted on staying.

"Fullmetal, you can't keep doing this. I can't hold my tongue any longer," Mustang said in response to Ed's bloodied appearance, "You need to stop attacking people!" Hawkeye looked over as he spoke.

"Whatever you may think, 'attacking people' is necessary in order for me to live. Deal with it," Edward replied sharply. Judging by his attitude, he hadn't had enough to eat… or drink, or whatever it was that he did.

"I've been thinking about that. I might have a solution to that problem," Hawkeye interrupted the argument before it could start. "Wait here." She put her papers down and swiftly strode out of the room. Ed was tempted to leave, simply because he didn't like being ordered around, but he stayed. He'd come back for a reason.

Edward headed over to Al's hospital bed. Before Mustang had a chance to object, Ed put his right hand up to his mouth and nicked his palm using his fangs, creating a small cut. He then held out his hands with his fingers spread apart, putting his left hand over his right with both palms down, like the hand motion used in CPR. He placed them against Al's forehead and closed his eyes, apparently concentrating. Mustang curiously watched in silence. Alphonse moved, for the first time since he'd been rescued, and his expression changed. At first he grimaced uncomfortably, but it soon faded into a small smile. The Colonel was surprised- he hadn't seen Fullmetal actually do anything, but Al was definitely waking up.

After a moment, Edward removed his hands, casually licking blood off the right one. Some blood from the cut on Ed's hand was smeared slightly on Al's forehead- it was glowing a light blue colour around the edges. Ed put out his arm out straight, so his right hand was palm-down with his fist closed, above and parallel to his brother. Gradually, he opened his hand fully, and raised his hand slightly. Al breathed in and slowly opened his eyes in unison with Ed's hand movements. His eyes were glowing the same baby-blue colour as the blood, but that quickly faded, leaving Al's eyes as their normal colour. The blood on his forehead turned to dust and blew away in the slight wind, leaving no trace.

Al blinked and smiled sleepily, not completely awake yet. "Brother? You found me! I always knew you would."

Ed crossed his arms and looked away. "Whatever…" Al smiled again and yawned.

"Go to sleep," Edward told him firmly, but Alphonse's eyes were already drifting shut.

"Mmmkay…" his breathing levelled out, and just like that, he was asleep. Not in a coma as he had been before- he was actually sleeping this time.

"What did you do to him?" Mustang asked interestedly.

Edward shrugged. "I temporarily transferred some of my healing abilities to him, through my blood. It communicated with the brain and sped up the accumulation of nutrients until it reached a normal level, out of the danger range." He glanced down at Alphonse. "But sometimes it confuses the mind a little. So you have to sleep it off."

Mustang noted that Fullmetal was being rather talkative today. "What he said wasn't because he was confused by your healing trick. He really believes that." Ed began to answer, but was interrupted by the door opening.

Hawkeye entered, holding a glass and a small jar full of red liquid which was way too dark to be blood. "I recently heard about a trial being run here at the military Headquarters' infirmary. The doctors here never have enough donated blood in stock; so the medical science branch invented this." Hawkeye put the jar and glass down on a nearby table. "You pour about a centimetre of this stuff into a cup, add water, and it will act in the same way as real blood when given to a patient. I've heard it imitates blood all the way down to smell and taste." She reached for the jug of water sitting on the bedside table beside Mustang and poured water into the glass, having already added the red liquid. The colour of the 'fake blood' lightened considerably.

Ed scoffed as Hawkeye handed him the glass. "I'll see about that." He eyed the glass disdainfully, as if he thought it was poisonous. Hawkeye and Mustang both held their breath as he took a small sip. If he liked it, then he wouldn't need to keep attacking civilians for their blood. There was a moment of silence.

"It's… different than normal," Ed looked thoughtful. "Definitely sweeter. I mean, it's just as good as normal blood… actually, it's probably tastier." He sounded astonished- he thought fake blood would taste like crap.

Hawkeye smiled, with just a touch of triumph. "Of course." Well, she said of course; she really meant _I told you so_.

Hawkeye handed him the jar. "Come and see me when you need more," she added.

Mustang was staring at her strangely. "How the hell did you get that? Isn't access to that product restricted to General and above?"

"Not when you know the things I know," Hawkeye actually smirked, and Mustang sweatdropped. He didn't want to know. He glanced over at Fullmetal, just in time to see the teen wince.

"Are you injured?" the Colonel hurriedly asked him, and received a scowl in response.

"I'm fine!" Edward exclaimed as Hawkeye walked back over to him. She scanned him over carefully, and he frowned. After a moment, Hawkeye seized Ed's left arm and pulled his bloodied, black long-sleeve shirt away from his shoulder. Her eyes widened as she saw the wound hidden beneath, as she came to the abrupt realization that some of the blood covering Ed was his own.

There were _seven_ claw-like marks sliced into his shoulder, all perfectly parallel to one another, and all exceptionally deep. It appeared to be an old wound that had been re-opened, rather than a new wound, and it reminded the two officers of all the horrible injuries Edward used to show up with- only to have them heal the very next day. There must be a reason why this one wasn't healing properly.

"How long have you had this wound? Why hasn't it healed like your other ones?" Hawkeye demanded.

Ed frowned at her. "Wounds won't heal if there's something preventing them! I just can't get the stuff out…" he trailed off peculiarly. Hawkeye sat him down on the edge of Al's bed and fetched some spare bandages and a pair of tweezers. Edward realised this was going to hurt, but it didn't bother him- he was used to pain.

"How did you get that, anyway?" Mustang frowned as Hawkeye began to pull what appeared to be tiny shards of metal from the teen's shoulder. She was confused but didn't show it, instead assuming an unreadable expression.

"In a fight, obviously," Ed rolled his eyes, holding still to allow Hawkeye to treat his shoulder. He became so still that he appeared to be a statue; even his breathing stopped, which began to alarm Hawkeye slightly.

"Don't stop breathing!" she said firmly.

"Hmm?" Edward looked at her. "Oh." He started breathing again, like he'd hit an on switch.

Mustang sighed, "Why were you fighting in the first place?"

"I was defending the rest of the Clan from the Homunculi's soldiers," Ed said dismissively. The two officers stared at him.

"The Clan?" inquired Hawkeye.

"Homunculi's soldiers?" asked Mustang at the same time.

Edward sighed, as if they should already know all of this but were too ignorant to figure it out. "The Clan is a group of vampires. All the vampires that lived in Central as humans, were created in Central or have moved to Central since." He paused. "Well, there are some who decided not to live with the rest of us, but not many."

Mustang and Hawkeye stared at him, shocked. "… How many vampires are there? I mean, we would notice if a large amount all congregated together." Mustang said. Fullmetal smirked.

"As if- the Clan's been here for millions of years and humans haven't realised. And there are thousands of us." He commented.

"In Amestris?" Hawkeye queried.

"In Central," Edward clarified, and her eyes widened.

"Wait, what about the soldiers of the Homunculi?" Mustang intervened. He was more concerned about the Homunculi building an army- he recalled the conversation he'd heard earlier that night, down in the tunnels where those horrifying creatures were being kept.

"The Homunculi hate us. And we hate them- it's a long story, but vampires and Homunculi have been at war for thousands of years. Although it's strange… I hadn't seen that Homunculus Envy before he attacked Alphonse, but I know about the other six…" Hawkeye noticed Edward was still calling his brother Alphonse, not Al. "Anyway, they send wave after wave of these soldiers that they create. The Homunculi imbed weapons and powers into them, like guns or the ability to create sunlight- it's bothersome. And I'm one of the fighters for the Clan- it's the job I chose to take on." Edward stopped, apparently not about to elaborate.

"The soldiers- they don't happen to look like tall, pale, human-like zombie creatures, do they?" Mustang leant forward, intent on Edward's answer.

The teen suddenly looked interested. "Yeah, actually, they do. How'd you know?"

Mustang answered his question with a question. "And you also said… that the Homunculi create them? How?"

Edward glanced at him. "Well, they use humans, of course."


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Hey, everyone. Thanks for taking the time to read Night Eyes! :D I just wanted to say that this long chapter is a thank-you for and dedicated to Rokuchuchu, who is the only person who regularly reviews. XD**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 11-<strong>

"I don't understand how they can use humans to make those dreadful things! I mean, they're human in shape, but that's about it!" Mustang scowled, swinging his legs over the side of the infirmary bed and standing up in anger. He instantly regretted the action- white hot lances of pain shot up his right side, and he cringed.

"Sir, lie back down," Hawkeye ordered, pulling her gun out of its leather holster. "Now." At first, she didn't think he'd heard- he had locked eyes with Edward, both trying to get the other to look away first. Mustang figured that if Fullmetal looked away, then he was probably lying- nothing could turn a human into a creature like the ones he'd seen. Ed, on the other hand, held his ground, refusing to back down from the military officer. Why would he lie about something like that anyway?

After a long, tense moment, Mustang sat down again- his side was really causing him pain. Fortunately, the movement dispelled the tense atmosphere. Ed smirked slightly, to Mustang's annoyance. A nearby mahogany clock chimed 1 o'clock into the brief silence.

"The Homunculi have this set of machines. I have no idea where they came from- our scouts say they just appeared from out of nowhere, years ago." Edward tilted his head, causing the officers to wonder what he was thinking about.

"Machines? What do they do?" Hawkeye encouraged him to continue.

"I only have a general idea of it, since that's really not my area." Edward told her. "But there are two machines- you hook a mortal up to the first one, and pour a whole ton of ingredients into the second, and then you wait for this 'blue electricity' to surround the second machine."

Blue electricity- that's alchemy! Thought Mustang. "Then what?"

Ed frowned at him. "When the second machine is opened, a body will have formed, like the ones you described to me. Don't ask me how because I don't know. They're made according to a pre-designed template, or something like that. Weapons and powers and stuff can be combined with the body if you put it in with the ingredients. But, the bodies are limp and vacant. There's no-one inside."

"So then, how do the Homunculi get their soldiers to move?" Hawkeye wondered out loud.

"That's where the human comes in," Edward said, watching the two humans in front of him carefully as he spoke his next sentence. "The first machine transfers the mind and soul of the human into the body formed in the second machine. I'm told it takes days." _Not to mention it's unbearably painful… _

Neither of the officers spoke for a moment- the teen could see rage smouldering in their eyes, but the Colonel and his lieutenant were too professional to allow their feelings to show in their tone of voice or expression. During the venture into the tunnels and this conversation afterwards, Edward began to feel an inkling of respect for them both- that was why he was telling them all of this. He knew most humans would shrink from the topic they were discussing, simply because they would not like what they found. The Amestrian Military, for instance, had done just that, allowing the Homunculi to cause destruction and horror unrestrainedly just because they didn't want to know about the problem. Why did mortals ignore the all the wars, murders and lies that were going on right in front of them without doing anything about it? Edward didn't think he'd ever figure it out.

Mustang and Hawkeye were both thinking about the scene down in the right-hand tunnel, with the cages filled with 'finished' creatures, and the abnormal machines along the steel wall that had humans in them- all of whom were screaming desperately in agony. Hawkeye could still remember the screams in perfect clarity, and she momentarily wondered if the Colonel could too. At least now both of them knew what was going on down there.

Eventually, Mustang spoke. "They're forcing people into those monstrous bodies...?"

Edward tried to keep his distance, but couldn't help adding, "If it's any consolation to you, the humans don't know what's happened. The mind receptors in the soldiers really aren't big enough for a human brain. They can move, follow orders, register pain and everything, but they don't really think." Hawkeye couldn't tell if that made the situation better or worse.

"So then…" she swallowed, "the mind and soul of the person are moved, and the human body left over…"

"Dies," Edward glanced at the older woman. "The human body needs a mind to control the brain. No brain signals means no organs work, including the heart and lungs. However, obviously one can live without a soul." He sounded halfway between amused and sarcastic on his last comment.

"Wait, people have lost their minds and lived before! They just don't really register anything much," Mustang realised.

Fullmetal shook his head. "Common misconception- they still possess some part of their mind, even if it's only the tiniest sliver of thought. Mortals can live on that."

"And after all of that torture," Mustang said slowly, "the bodies are dumped in cages…" _Like the one Breda was in_. He went through that! Mustang clenched his fists, rage blinding his thoughts. How could he allow any one of his subordinates to meet with a fate like that one? He should have been faster- he should have saved him somehow. But it was too late. Mustang's eyes narrowed dangerously. The Homunculi were going to pay hell for this!

Abruptly, something occurred to Edward. "Dumped in cages...? I mean, yes they are, but you would only know that if you'd seen it! And- how'd you know what the soldiers looked like? Where did you see them?"

"We saw them down the right hand tunnel, remember? Oh, wait, you didn't come up the right-hand one, and you missed the report… that's right. Well, you basically know anyway, Edward. The Homunculi are massing an army for an attack," Hawkeye informed him.

Ed's eyes suddenly flashed a menacing red. "They're attacking us again? When? Did you hear anything they said?"

"Yes… something about how the soldiers are almost ready, and how you guys won't stand a chance… oh, and they said they were attacking 'on the date they discussed, at midday'," Hawkeye explained.

One moment Ed was sitting across from her, on top of the rail at the end of Al's infirmary bed. In the next he appeared right in front of her, giving her a particularly intense look.

"Anything else?" he said slowly, in a low voice. A slight feeling of fear suddenly washed over Hawkeye as she noticed the deadly look in his crimson eyes, the abrupt quiet, low voice that was without any emotion.

"N-no," she stammered, shocked by the abrupt change in the teen. Edward began to move past her at a speed to fast for the human eye to see, and that same fear swept over her again, only a thousand times worse. She felt sure that she was going to die, and her eyes widened. Her body wouldn't move! But she didn't really have the time to panic- Ed swept past Hawkeye, and the feeling of certain death vanished. She didn't have to turn to know he'd left. The feeling seemed familiar to her… after a moment, she realised the teen had done that once before when he'd left the office. Why would he…? Unless it wasn't on purpose. Hawkeye sighed, attempting to relax more. They had a long way to go to get Edward back to normal.

* * *

><p>The crimson-eyed vampire ran at his top speed over rooftops, streetlights, telephone poles- anything he could find. Speed was his greatest advantage, despite Alphonse telling him he'd relied on strength in the past. He didn't remember that. He didn't remember having heavy metal limbs that could withstand nearly everything but weighed him down considerably. He just knew that he was the fastest vampire to join the clan in over 100 years. And right now, he was extremely glad of that fact.<p>

Edward knew he was stalling, thinking about other things instead of doing what he knew he would have to do. It's just that he hated the idea of using this aspect of his vampirism. He sighed, but no sound reached his ears- he was running too fast for that. This would be the very first test of the effectiveness of his telepathy.

**:Hughes!:** he sent, wondering if it would actually reach the older vampire. To Ed's astonishment, he answered almost immediately.

**:Ed?:** Hughes answered, sounding slightly surprised, but using the same jovial tone as always. **:Hey, just look at you! Finally using telepathy, hey? You must've gotten a really good photo of Elysia or Gracia, and you wanted to let me know immediately! I completely understand your profound joy, Ed!:**

Ed scowled, closing his eyes in annoyance. He didn't need his sight to get to the Clan anyway.

**:Hughes, focus!:** he almost yelled, forgetting that he didn't need to raise his 'voice' when using mind-to-mind communication. They could both hear one another as clearly as if they were in the same room. To emphasise his point, Ed sent a general feeling of urgency to Hughes.

**:What's wrong?:** he replied hurriedly. Ed realised that Hughes thought he was hurt.

**:Nothing like that.:** Ed frowned. Why did _everyone_ have to always _worry_ about him? He could take care of himself! He didn't need anyone else's help! **:The Homunculi plan to attack again!:**

Edward sensed Hughes' shock. **:Are you sure? In that last battle a couple of days ago, we beat them pretty badly. The Clan's pretty sure they aren't going to attack for another couple of months! They need the time to replenish their source of soldiers!: **Hughes' tone was completely serious now.

**:I never actually saw it with my own eyes, but Mustang, Hawkeye and Havoc discovered another factory.:** Ed replied, referring to the enormous room where the monstrous soldiers were created.

**:What?:** Hughes actually sounded a bit annoyed. **:I thought the scouts trashed them all beyond repair! You mean they've been making soldiers all this time?:**

**:Yeah. They probably thought that if they faked a defeat, then we'd assume they wouldn't attack for a while in order to replenish their numbers, like you mentioned. Then they'd catch us unaware.:** Ed would reach the entrance to the Clan in a matter of minutes if he continued the pace he was travelling at. Normally, the trip took him a good twenty minutes. Tonight, he was nearly there in just under five minutes.

**:Worst thing is, it nearly worked. Do you know when they plan to try and kill us all?:** Ed heard a sudden bout of Hughes' humour under that sentence.

**:I don't know the date- it's sometime soon- but the time is at midday.:** the teen replied. Suddenly he realised his eyes were still shut, and he opened them out of pure habit.

**:Of course it's at midday. Right when we're at our weakest. I've already notified the other Seniors- Justin will tell the Elders. Thanks for letting us know so quickly.:** Hughes was talking about the hierarchy of the Clan- there are normal vampires, who chose which job they would like to take on. If they chose to try for a leadership position, they would take the Trial, and if they passed they were elected to Senior. If they underwent Trial again two times and passed, they would be elected Elder. It took an extremely long time to accomplish such a goal, so despite their eternal lifespan there were precious few Seniors, and even fewer Elders. But Edward hadn't been interested in leadership anyway.

While Edward's thoughts had once again wondered off, Hughes had actually been doing something productive.

**:Ed, the Elders think the attack won't happen for another couple of days- I'm not sure why. A scout group will be dispatched tomorrow night to sabotage the new factory, and the Seniors want you in it.:**

**:What? I'm not a scout, I'm a defender! What the fuck, man?:** Ed yelled at him.

Hughes winced at having Ed shout directly into his mind. **:Hey, it wasn't my decision! The others figured it would be best to have you there because, unlike every other sane person, you constantly go to the surface!:** Ed suddenly felt Hughes hesitate.

**:What now?:** he sighed irritably.

**:Well… they also want to speak to the humans who discovered it.:** Hughes said reluctantly. **:Tomorrow night, after the scout, they want you to bring Mustang, Hawkeye and Havoc into the Clan.:**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Sorry for the late-ish update. I meant to have it up a couple of days ago… but I've been sick all week. :( But I'm happy atm, cause I finally got to write a scene where Ed begins to act brotherly again! ;) Well, what are you waiting for? Get reading! :P**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 12-<strong>

Edward didn't like following orders. It was bad enough when he actually wanted to do what he'd been told to do, but when someone told him to do something he didn't like then Ed would generally ignore them. This applied to everyone… including the clan's Elders. That was the reason why, the next night, Edward completely avoided the scout group and went up to the surface instead. He wanted to talk to Al.

Dusk had only just fallen when Edward arrived in the same room he'd been in yesterday. This time there was only one person in the room. Mustang was probably back at work already- his wounds were nothing compared to what they used to have to fight with in the Ishval Civil War, or so Hawkeye had told him.

"Brother?" Al said happily, sitting up in his infirmary bed. Apparently Al didn't think he'd see Edward tonight.

"Alphonse," Edward greeted. It was a very formal greeting, and Al realized something was wrong immediately. His brother was _never_ that tense, especially with him.

"What is it?" Al stood, swaying ever so slightly, and made his way over to where Ed sat on a desk by the window. Al put a hand to his head as he went. Ed watched him cautiously. So he still didn't know…

"Nothing," sighed Ed, letting the matter slide for now. It would only upset the kid anyway. "Should you really be up?" he wondered out loud. Al didn't look very stable at the moment, but at least he wasn't deathly pale anymore.

"Ah, do I detect a note of concern, Brother? You're worried about me!" Al grinned, and received a 'don't-be-ridiculous' look in return. "The doctors are surprised I've healed this fast, actually. They're even saying it's a miracle. If nothing goes wrong, I can go home tomorrow morning." Al's smile didn't fade a bit, but he still hesitated before he spoke. "Do… you want to come with me?"

"Where?" Ed asked.

"Home. Winry's staying with me at the moment, and she'd be really happy to see you too!" Al grinned at him hopefully. Edward glanced sideways at him. Why the hell was this kid always so energetic and smiley? Was he always like this? Ed shook his head, and Al blinked.

"No." the voice Ed used had a tone of finality to it. Al's face fell abruptly, and to Ed's shock he felt a lance of pain hit his chest. Al glanced down at his feet, entirely missing Ed's pained look as he clutched his heart. What the hell… Ed glanced down at himself, but he wasn't wounded. And yet, his heart was really hurting him. It was a familiar pain… extremely familiar, as if he'd lived with it every single day for years.

"Oh… that's okay!" Al looked up again with a smile, but his tone completely contradicted his words. He sounded hurt, and Ed's pain increased. This was ridiculous! What was happening to him?

Al hoisted himself up onto the desk beside Ed with a grunt of effort. "The Colonel and the others told me about the Homunculi and their attack. Is everything okay with you, Brother? Where you live?" He looked over to Ed.

"Not yet," Ed said unthinkingly. He was deep in thought, trying to figure out why the pain was so familiar. There was nothing in his memories, but he'd expected that.

"Hey, Alphonse?"

"Hmm?" Al responded.

"Those military officers… Mustang, Hawkeye, Havoc… they can take care of themselves, right? I mean, they're good at handling panic-worthy, life-and-death situations." Ed had nearly figured the strange pain out- it was on the tip of his tongue-

"Of course, they're the best at what they do," Al sounded proud. Ed blinked, sitting up straight as he suddenly recalled why the pain was familiar. It was guilt. Humans got that when they felt bad about doing something horrible to someone or something else. But Ed didn't understand how this kid had managed to make a vampire feel guilty. The image of Al's excited expression falling floated into Ed's mind, but he ignored it.

"Why do you ask, Brother?" Al inquired curiously. Ed leaned back against the wall once again.

"Because they'll need to be where they're going," he said. Al was confused.

"…Where are they going?" he wondered.

"They're going where I go," Ed responded cryptically. Alphonse didn't understand why Edward was suddenly talking in riddles.

"Really?" Al blinked. Ed just shrugged. "Can I come too?"

His older brother stared at him. "_What?_"

Al gulped, taken aback by his sudden sharp tone. "Well, I just thought that if they're going with you, then I wanted to go as well. Like we always used to." Al knew Edward didn't remember the all times when they'd travelled on missions together, but he couldn't help mentioning it. He wanted things to go back to normal… well, normal for them, anyway.

"No way! It's too dangerous, and you're barely healed anyway. You can barely sit up without swaying around everywhere." It was true- Al's world wouldn't stay still, and it was difficult to balance properly.

"But Brother, if the others can go, I can too!"

"No! They're all older than you!"

"That didn't stop you when you were in their team!"

"Because I'm older than you as well!"

"That's not a reason!"

"It is a reason and you know it!"

"Well, it's not a _good_ one!"

Their brotherly bickering continued for a while, and this was the scene that presented itself to Winry when she opened the door to Al's hospital room. She grinned happily at the sight of the two brothers being so normal.

"You two are going to wake up everyone in the infirmary if you keep this up," she commented as she stepped inside, sliding the door closed for good measure.

"How'd you get in, Winry? Visiting hours must be over by now," Al asked the blonde.

Winry grinned evilly. "Let's just say I've been learning some things from Miss Hawkeye." Al blinked and Ed raised an eyebrow.

Winry glanced over to the elder of the two, but Ed wasn't giving her that awfully cold, I-really-want-to-kill-you look he'd given her that day at the automail shop. Spending time with Al seemed to have thawed him out slightly, and he was far more relaxed than ever before. Or maybe it was because he wasn't out in the middle of the day… whatever, the point was he looked mildly approachable this time.

"Hey Ed," she smiled, wondering what his response would be like. For a moment, he just stared blankly at her.

Then something seemed to click. "Winry," he replied casually. Winry's eyes narrowed dangerously, and she slowly frowned, stalking towards him until they were face-to-face.

"_Did you just forget my name?_" she roared, twitching slightly. Al winced, hoping she didn't kill him or do anything serious. Edward stared at her, and she furiously stared back.

Eventually, he spoke. "We've met once before, haven't we?" It wasn't a question, but a statement of fact. "Thanks for the talk, Alphonse." He abruptly jumped of the desk, landing beside Winry, and began to walk away, out the door.

"H-hold on a second!" Winry spun to face him.

"Brother, where are you going?" Al also slipped off the desk.

He called over his shoulder, "to see Mustang, Hawkeye and Havoc." He left, vanishing through the door in an oddly human manner.

"Did I say something…?" Winry asked, confused. He clearly only left because she'd arrived, and Winry had absolutely no idea why.

"I don't know," Al replied. Gradually, a small smile appeared on his lips. "But I think… he might be getting better."

* * *

><p>It was silent in both the inner and outer office that Colonel Mustang's team currently occupied. Mustang sat alone in his inner office, not really focused on anything much other than his thoughts. His wounds were annoying, but not anything near as serious as to impair his movements. Hawkeye, Havoc, Falman and Fuery were all sitting in the outer office, with one noticeable absence. Occasionally, the shuffling of papers broke the otherwise complete silence.<p>

_Thud._ Mustang glanced up, startled, to find Edward had once again simply appeared in his office. He sighed wearily.

"Fullmetal?" he turned to the teen, who was currently staring at him. Silence again enveloped the room… that was, until Ed's staring began to annoy him. Mustang's weariness quickly turned into anger.

"What?" the Colonel frowned.

Fullmetal shrugged. "You need to come with me." This time, it was Mustang's turn stare.

"Hawkeye and Havoc need to come as well," Edward coolly added, not at all self-conscious under Mustang's sudden scrutiny. It swiftly became obvious that Fullmetal wasn't willing to tell him what was going on just yet.

The young Colonel thought for a moment. Fullmetal hadn't deceived them yet, and both times the officers had followed his word had turned out to be important circumstances that they never would have discovered, if not for Fullmetal.

"Alright," Mustang spoke eventually. "Let me get my team ready." Ed said nothing.

"Everyone," the Colonel ordered, opening the door to the outer office. Four sets of eyes looked up to him in response. "There's a situation."

"What kind?" Hawkeye stood up, quickly followed by the other three. Mustang looked over to Fullmetal, who joined him at the door frame.

"Diplomatic," he said shortly, making everyone pause. They didn't get many of those, but every military officer knew that a diplomatic meeting could easily turn into combat in an instant. It was important to be aware and armed in case of such a turn of events.

"How far away?" Falman wondered as everyone nodded a quick greeting to the teenager.

"With or without a speed limit?" Fullmetal queried. Havoc smirked slightly.

"The car, then," he said. Everyone agreed as they got ready to leave- weapons loaded, protective equipment found etc. Edward briefly wondered why they were all still working late at Military Headquarters, but dismissed the thought as unimportant.

"What are the dangers involved?" Hawkeye asked, holding a gun in each hand, considering whether it would be more appropriate to take to long-range shooter or the close-range pistol.

"Well, it's basically a gigantic underground maze filled with thousands of people who really want to kill you," Edward said sarcastically. Fuery winced at the image.

After a moment more of consideration, Hawkeye decided to take them both.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Hello again people! *everyone boos and throws things* I know, I'm really sorry! I didn't mean to leave for that long (cough-nearly-an-entire-month-cough) without warning. I'm sure you don't want to hear my excuses, but here they are anyway!**

**1. It was Christmas. (Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, by the way! Woo for 2012!)**

**2. I went on a fantastic two-week long cruise to New Zealand for my holidays! XD And apparently internet was too expensive. And there was no reception. :/**

**3. My motivation was really low. You see, reviews really motivate me- they tell me people are waiting to read the next chapter, so I will make the effort to write it much sooner. But I'm barely getting any, so the last few chapters have been hard to write. This one took me days to finish. Literally. So, you should all review so I can write the next chapter really quickly! (Hint, hint :D )**

**So, yeah. Anyway, here is Chapter 13 of Night Eyes! Finally! ;)**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 13-<strong>

This time Hawkeye drove, much to everyone's relief. Ed sat nearest to her, frequently giving her directions since no-one else had even the slightest idea where they were going.

"So Chief, what's happening?" Havoc asked Edward as they pulled out of the Military parking space and out onto the nearly empty roads. Very few cars were travelling at such a late time of night. Ed was silent for a moment.

"Yes Fullmetal, brief us on the situation," Mustang enforced, when he didn't speak.

Edward looked slightly annoyed, but his eyes held a distant, dead look. It was creeping Fuery out, to tell the truth.

"My people want to discuss with you what you know about vampires, and the Homunculi and their plans," Edward said vaguely. "Turn at the next left."

"Their plans?" asked Falman. "Surely, they don't think we're involved?" Edward gave him a sharp look, and momentarily all they could hear was the rushing of wind against the hood of the army vehicle.

"You're telling me that a bunch of homicidal, psychotic vampires think we're planning to kill them? God, this is bad!" Fuery panicked. Ed scowled, wondering if he was allowed to kill the guy. Fuery, along with everyone else, immediately noticed Ed's sudden urge to strangle someone.

"Ah, no offense, of course! Not all vampires are psychotic murderers!" Fuery hurriedly corrected, but he only made things worse. "I mean, there are really good vampires too, but most of them are… yeah. You can't deny that a lot of them are creepy, soulless- I mean-!"

"Fuery, be quiet before Fullmetal strangles you." Mustang ordered sternly, and Fuery shut up nervously.

"Will they?" Hawkeye suddenly spoke, glancing at Edward, before turning back to the road. "Try and kill us," she added.

Edward closed his eyes, leaning back in his seat. "Definitely." Fuery gulped, unnerved.

"Not you, dumbass. You won't even be there," the teen scowled crossly in Fuery direction.

Fuery wondered why every move he made angered Edward, especially when he was trying to be nice. After all, no one ever particularly _wants_ to have a hot-headed vampire on their bad side.

"What do you mean, 'won't even be there?" Falman asked Edward.

Ed turned to him. "Exactly what it sounds like. He absolutely can't come- and neither can you. The Clan only wants to see Mustang, Havoc, and Hawkeye."

"No." Mustang flat-out rejected. "I absolutely refuse to leave any of my team members behind again. The Homunculi tunnels were bad enough. We work as one unit, is that clear?" he glared at Fullmetal.

The officers literally felt the temperature drop as Ed stared coldly back.

"You obviously don't understand the immense situation you're in. The people you're dealing with- the people that I _live_ with- they are ruthless. They have no emotion, mercy, or patience. If those two go with you, they will be viewed as worthless, unnecessary tag-a-longs and will be killed instantly as they hold no value to the Clan. I was under the impression you were against having your fellow mortals die." Edward hissed, his own patience running thin.

An uneasy silence fell again. Occasionally Ed turned around to give Hawkeye directions as he waited for the Colonel to make the logical choice- to leave the two behind.

Eventually Mustang sighed. "Alright… Fuery, Falman, you two need to return to base."

Falman frowned and Fuery's heart dropped in disappointment. He instantly opened his mouth to protest, but Mustang cut him off.

"Make sure to _**follow**_ the main road, in the opposite direction of _**us**_- there are currently road works on the side roads. _**Don't get caught**_ behind them, it's a pain. Alright?" Mustang gave his two subordinates a meaningful look.

Fuery felt his spirits rise again. Mustang was using code to tell them their true orders without letting Edward know. Falman's and Fuery's real orders were to follow the group discreetly without getting caught and provide back-up support when it was needed. Fuery glanced at Edward, but fortunately he didn't seem suspicious of the slightly odd things Mustang had just said.

"Yes sir," they dutifully replied, and Hawkeye momentarily stopped to drop them off. Being military officers, walking around in the dark didn't really bother them, and they could definitely handle anyone who attempted an attack. Fuery stood next to Falman and watched as the group of four drove off to all sorts of horrid dangers.

"That car _does_ have a standard military-issue tracker on it, right?" Fuery double checked with Falman.

The oldest of the team gazed at him. "Yes. Tracking them will be easy enough." He pulled out a device about the size and shape of a phone and opened it. A continuous beeping noise sliced through the chill air as it showed the location of the vehicle Hawkeye was driving.

"I brought it just in case," Falman added thoughtfully. Fuery sweatdropped- he was far too organised to be human.

The two began walking down the road, but were quickly distracted by the rumble of an engine coming up the street. Normally someone driving at night wouldn't be unusual, except the car that pulled up beside them was another military vehicle. The door swung open to reveal Al sitting in the passenger seat, with Winry behind the wheel. Fuery was stunned to see them.

"Mr Falman, Mr Fuery! What are you doing walking around on the street so late?" Al asked, surprised to run into them.

"I think the real question is, why is an under-aged teenager driving?" Falman replied, raising an eyebrow at Winry. "And where might you two be going?"

Winry went slightly red at being caught driving underage, but confidently said, "I've driven before, and I know what I'm doing! Besides, it's something of an emergency. You guys are driving into a dangerous situation, right? Al and I wanted to help, so we were following you."

Falman thought for a moment. "Normally we would never allow such a thing, but in this case… I believe it would be wise to bring you two for a while. Under two conditions," Falman told Al and Winry. They were both grinning, but tried to look mature and capable of the responsibility being given to them.

"Number one- you two _will not_ enter the Clan's territory under _any_ circumstance. No matter what you see or hear, do not enter into the vampires' territory. Preferably, wait in or near the car. Am I understood?" Falman said sternly, and the teens both nodded. "Condition number two-" he paused, and gazed at them. "Either myself or Fuery will drive." He gave a small smile, and the teens grinned again. They climbed out of the car and into the back seats, while Falman situated himself in the driver's seat and Fuery took the passenger seat.

The odd group of four commenced driving again. After a moment, Falman asked the teens a question that was annoying him.

"How were you following us before? We were completely out of sight- you two were too far behind to tail us. The streets are pretty much empty; we would have seen you immediately." Falman scrutinized their expressions through the rear-view mirror.

Winry looked slightly sheepish and Al seemed nervous. "The same way you're following them now, sir," Winry replied. "Al knows the military inside out because of Ed, and I'm good with mechanical devices and technology- getting a tracker and hacking it was kind of easy between us both…"

Al burst out with, "We're sorry about taking your device, but we're tired of being left behind! We really just want to help. Please don't send us back!"

There was a short pause before Fuery began to laugh. After another moment, Falman began to chuckle as well. Al and Winry glanced at each other, confused. Did that mean they could stay, or…

"Of course you can both still come. Just don't do that again, alright?" Falman eventually said.

Fuery was still laughing. "We're a huge establishment of powerful soldiers dedicated to protecting people, that have the best security in the country, and we were hacked by two teenagers! Ah, that's hilarious!" He looked back at them. "You two really are intelligent for your age. Edward must have rubbed off on you, that sounds like something he would do!"

Winry and Al smiled, relived. However Fuery, still leaning towards them, suddenly pulled a face.

"Ack, what the heck is that awful smell?" he covered his nose and mouth with one hand. Now that he mentioned it, Falman could smell it too.

"Is that… garlic?" Falman inquired slowly.

Al smiled pleasantly back at him. "Yes, it is. Brother told me about a way that humans could go undetected by vampires! It was really complicated, especially since vampires can detect the life forms around them and all, but garlic can cover your scent and life energies and other ways vampires can use to locate you. As a result, unless we make a noise or are in direct sight, the vampires won't even know we're there!"

"It doesn't hurt them or anything, though," Winry added helpfully.

"So that's how you planned to break in," mused Falman thoughtfully. He glanced at the inventive teens in the back seat. "Do you just have to have it with you, or…"

Winry shook her head. "Just rub a bit of the garlic on your skin. Because the smell's really strong, it will last for a couple of hours at least." Suddenly she blinked, remembering. "Oh Al, didn't we bring some extra, just in case?"

The golden-brunette beside her shifted, hauling up a backpack from where it lay on the floor behind Falman's seat. He unzipped it and peered inside.

"Definitely," he made a face a bit like Fuery's earlier one and held the smelly backpack further away.

"Good. Fuery, we'll need some of that too, to go undetected in the Clan," Falman said, pulling over temporarily. Within a couple of minutes they smelled like fresh garlic as well, and Falman opened the tracker again, beginning to drive.

"They're all the way out of Central," Falman spoke, surprised. "Right in the surrounding rural areas."

Fuery leaned over and examined the tracker as well. "Wow… they must be going at a million miles an hour… they've got to be breaking the speed limit! Why the hell are they going so fast? Hawkeye would never drive like that, unless…" he paused.

"Unless they're in trouble," Fuery finished, gulping. Winry gasped and Al held an expression of worry. Falman suddenly looked determined, and to everyone's shock he floored the accelerator, intent on catching up.

Al gazed out the window, watching his surroundings fly by as Falman drove. He hoped the trouble was nothing serious, but for them to be travelling at such a speed… Please hold on, he thought to his friends and his brother. We're on our way to help, so please don't get injured while we're gone…

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><p><strong>AN: Aw, Al's so cute. xD Well, Ed and the others are in danger! Remember to review. Go on, you know you want to! Don't you want to know what happens? ;)**


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's Note: That's right people! This is indeed… (Drumroll) a double update! Two updates in less than 24 hours! XD  
>Firstly, I really do feel bad about randomly leaving for just over three weeks. Secondly, awesomenaruto specifically asked me for a double update, and I like to keep my reviewers happy! :) Lastly, I got a really beautiful review from A Happy Guest Reader, aka Jay, and it motivated me. ^_^<br>One more thing, I want to give a shout out to TheBlackRose123 as my other reviewer and my awesome creeping buddy! :D Well, that's it from me… Go read Chapter 14!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 14-<strong>

Winry screamed sorrowfully as the car squealed to a halt, tears forming in her eyes. Al saw the whole scene as if he was watching it through the eyes of someone else- the dancing flames, the stinging of the ashy smoke, and what used to be a military car blasted to smithereens on the edge of the sidewalk. Al's mind froze, but his body moved on its own, forcing him to rush out of the car and over to the site of the explosion along with his three companions.

"Colonel! Lieutenant! Havoc! Ed! Can any of you hear me?" Falman shouted, hoping to hear a response. Fuery began digging under the mass of molten steel, twisted rubber and splinters of wood, hauling piece after piece out of his road in search of the rest of his team. Falman, Al and Winry joined him, although Winry could barely see through her tears. Oh, she'd seen destruction and blood before- her parents were doctors, after all- but it had never been her friends whose lives were in danger. Al trembled as he shoved more of the mess out of the way. His friends were buried under there… his brother was buried under there! He exerted his willpower and stopped his trembling, now able to work faster and more precisely.

Falman called out to them again, and this time Al and Winry did as well, but Fuery couldn't make his voice work. So soon after Breda… he couldn't lose anyone else! He pushed at an excessive piece of metal twisted beyond repair, but couldn't move it- it was far too heavy. As he pushed, Fuery thought he heard something. He paused, ceasing all movement in order to listen. Again came the sound- it sort of sounded like a muffled groan. Fuery's eyes lit up, and suddenly he found his voice.

"I found someone… I found someone! Help me move this!" he yelled, pushing the obstacle with all of his strength. Al and Winry came sprinting over, and Falman rushed around the other side to help pull it out. Under the force of four people, the warped debris moved easily.

Falman peered through the smoke, detecting jet-black hair and a ripped, dirty blue uniform. But the Colonel was completely unconscious- he couldn't have made the sound Fuery heard. Falman took hold of the younger man's arms, while Fuery picked up Mustang's feet, and they carefully lifted him up and out. Normally they didn't move an injured soldier immediately in case of spinal injury, but the surrounding metal was slowly burning him, and he needed to be relocated as soon as possible.

Al watched concernedly as they moved Mustang out of harm's way, but a small tremor of movement caught Winry's attention and she glanced back over to the wreckage.

Her eyes widened. "Miss Hawkeye?" she gasped, kneeling by the older woman's side. The Lieutenant was lying under where Mustang had been before, barely conscious, and she wheezed uneasily when she tried to breathe. She groaned painfully again. The officers decided to move her as well, and she too was lifted out of the burning heap and onto the deserted sidewalk.

"Lieutenant? Can you hear me, Lieutenant?" Falman asked urgently.

"Colonel… where's the Colonel…?" Hawkeye shut her eyes against the pain, as if it would help.

"He's right here, Miss Hawkeye," Winry replied, gesturing to Mustang even though Hawkeye couldn't see. "He's alive."

"Stupid… he protected me… it should have been… the other… way around," Hawkeye wheezed, taking many breaths between her words as if the air wasn't getting to her lungs properly. "Where's… Havoc, and… Ed…?"

Al bit his lip. "We haven't found them yet…" he began to tremble lightly again. "I'm sorry."

Fuery and Winry promptly began to search again for the other two, and Al went to help them, leaving Hawkeye with Falman.

"Falman… I think… Ed … was taken…" Hawkeye told him wearily.

"What? Lieutenant, what happened?" Falman gave her a solemn look.

"We were… attacked… they blew up… the car…" Hawkeye coughed, her voice scratching painfully. "It was… an ambush… they were waiting… followed us…" her injured voice was quickly fading to a whisper as she attempted to finish her report.

"Who did this?" Falman nearly growled, although his anger was not directed towards Hawkeye.

"It was… the vampire hunters…" Hawkeye whispered. Falman's jaw dropped; he was expecting the Homunculi or the actual vampires to be the cause, or possibly even Scar. Vampire Hunters? Surely, she had to be kidding!

"They knew… about Ed… the Homunculi… told them… Ed… captured…" Hawkeye's voice couldn't take anymore and completely gave out, her consciousness swiftly following.

Falman's mouth formed a firm line as he reflected on the news. The Homunculi told the Hunters that Ed was a vampire, and they'd blown up the military car with explosives in order to capture him. Falman knew by observing the tracker that when Hawkeye was driving before, it was in the entirely opposite direction to where Ed needed to go. The Hunters must have been following them, and they were just driving out of gunfire range… but it was a trap, they were actually herding the car towards the stack of explosives…! Falman frowned. This was why he usually never went in the field- he was more of a research-and-technology sort of person.

Fuery and Al came up beside Falman with Winry following, this time carrying Havoc.

"They're all in such bad shape…" Winry murmured, worryingly looking over the injured three.

Falman looked at them all solemnly, but his next words were directed mainly to Al and Winry. "I'm sorry," he said, and briefed them on the information he'd learned from Hawkeye before she'd passed out.

"Ed's gone…?" Winry whispered, gazing at the charred ground with watery eyes. Falman went off to one side, taking Fuery with him, and quickly called an ambulance, as the car they were travelling in before didn't have enough space to transport them all to the hospital.

Al seemed to be in shock at first, but after a moment he looked at Winry and smiled, astonishing her. "Don't worry, Winry. Think of who we're talking about here. Brother's been in loads of situations like this before and he always manages to escape without serious injury. I'm sure he's fine, and we'll see him again soon!" His eyes also watered, but he stood with a determined look in his eyes. He had faith in his older brother.

Al's words didn't seem to help Winry any. "But… oh Al, he doesn't remember that! He won't remember how to get away!" Winry began to panic. "I know he's a vampire and practically invincible and all that, but these people deal with vampires specifically! They'll know any weaknesses… they'll know how to kill him…!"

Winry began to tremble. "Al, I'm so worried about him… he's too stupid! He constantly puts himself in danger!"

Al gazed worriedly at her for a moment, before pulling his long-time friend into a hug. Winry threw her arms around the younger boy, distraught beyond belief.

"He's already changed so much. What if he doesn't come back this time…?" she cried.

Al smiled sadly, even though Winry wouldn't see it. "Brother always comes back, no matter what happens. _Always_. And besides, even if he didn't, he'd have us to come find him again."

Winry gazed at him, this time comforted by his soothing words.

"So, what do you say? Do you want to go find Brother with me?" Al looked hopeful, seeing as how Winry wasn't crying anymore. She gave him a small, genuine smile.

"Alright. And when I find the idiot, I'm going to throw my entire tool set at him!" Winry frowned. Al wasn't sure whether to be happy she was back to her normal, strong self, or frightened for his brother's health. Winry's tool set was _enormous_, being a mechanic and all.

The ambulance pulled up then, and Mustang, Hawkeye and Havoc were loaded inside. Falman ended up going inside the ambulance as well, but Al, Winry and Fuery had to drive to the hospital in the Military car.

All of them had completely forgotten about the Clan's summons. They were soon to learn that the Clan would not be defied the hard way.

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><p><strong>AN: Oh dear… they've angered the Clan, and Ed isn't there to help them out any more! Will they rescue Ed from the Hunters in time? What will the Clan do? When will the Homunculi choose to attack? How will Ed ever get his memories back in the midst of all this madness and chaos? Will I ever stop talking? If you want to find out… review! :D**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15-**

Edward woke slowly and soundlessly, his head tilting forward tiredly before he brought it up again to gaze around him. By the looks of things, he was in another of the Homunculi's hideouts, although it was different from the first one he'd located. They'd put him behind bars; with no alchemy available to him, there was no need to chain him up to keep his hands apart, and so he could move around the enclosed space as he wished. However, Ed wasn't alone.

Five people stood conversing outside Ed's cage. Envy leaned half in the shadows with a triumphant smirk in place, while Pride was as far away from Envy as he could possibly get and was wearing an aloof, superior look. Then three humans Ed didn't know stood in between the two Homunculi- a muscly, dark-skinned man who was obviously the boss, with a man and a woman posed beside him, acting as bodyguards. None of the five had realized he was awake, so he kept silent and motionless, hoping to overhear some useful information.

"We, the honourable Hunters, have held up our end of your filthy bargain, zombies! You told us where he'd be and we brought him to you. Your part of the deal says the vampire would be delivered to us for experimentation and death after your questioning!" the man boomed ferociously. All three mortals had weapons, and were poised and ready to use them if need be.

"See, there's your trouble," Envy drawled carelessly. "Your honour doesn't bother me, now does it? It only troubles you, the pitiful human who brings it on himself!"

"You lied? You dark monsters, we had a deal! The vampire's death in place of your own! We have all the skills and weapons needed to kill you, zombies. Hand fangs over or we'll destroy every last part of your dark soul!" the man tightened his hold on his weapon.

Pride spoke up. "Soul? Oh no, stupid human. That's for far inferior beings. But I simply cannot allow even an inferior being to oppose me."

He casually drew his sword and moved to attack. To Ed's eyes, he was moving rather slowly, but the humans would never even realized he'd moved before they died. Pride severed the boss's head from his body, and then stabbed the woman through the heart. They died instantly. The young man beside them was splattered thoroughly with their blood, his eyes wide in horror as he realized what had happened. He never even saw the zombie move… then Pride slashed him lightly along his collarbone and the right side of his neck. The man fell to his knees, holding his neck in hopes it would slow the blood flow. Actually, it wasn't a fatal wound- not even a serious injury.

Ed suddenly realized Envy had unlocked the door to his prison, although from where he lay he couldn't see it. Pride effortlessly threw the young man into the cage, and it was re-locked. Ed heard the two sets of footsteps move off in different directions, slowly fading into the distance, until all he could hear was the heavy breathing of the other young man. He was clearly panicking- he'd lost his weapon and back up, and had no idea when Ed would wake up to the sight and smell of his blood. The guy trembled silently, unable to stop.

Edward rolled his eyes- it wasn't like he was going to kill him. He sat up, yawning, and quite accidentally showed off his deadly fangs. The man backed right up against the entrance of the cage.

"Stay away, you unholy demon!" he shouted, his voice breaking in fright. Ed rolled his eyes again. This was supposed to be his meal? He wanted a refund!

"I'm a vampire, not a demon. Rookie." Ed stood with a slinking grace, stretching casually.

The guy's eyes went wide, and he froze. "You… you can speak…!"

Ed turned to face him, regarding him nonchalantly. Obviously, this guy had been badly lied to about the intelligence and nature of vampires. He suddenly felt a slight prickling sensation at the back of his eyes, irritation flowing over him and his strength and speed slightly draining- it was daytime. That was just great.

Sighing, Ed moved to the bars of the prison, the young man scuttling out of his way in order to put as much distance between them as possible. Ed casually placed his hands on the bars, pressing down and out. They moved like rubber under his strength, and formed an escape hole. The young man's mind went into turmoil. Those bars… they were made from enforced steel, and were the width of a saucer! That was impossible!

Ed actually laughed under his breath at the Homunculi's pathetic attempt to keep him confined. Even after all this time warring with vampires, they still didn't realize how strong they are! Dumbasses. Then again, the Homunculi never fought in the wars themselves- they just sent all their mindless soldiers. He stepped out into the vast room and chose a direction, following a gut feeling.

The young man confusedly watched him move off. He didn't understand- not only could this vampire control his thirst (since he hadn't been attacked even though was bleeding all over the place) but he could talk, and in fact was intelligent. This was not what he'd imagined a vampire to be like. When Ed was a significant distance away, he scrambled to his feet and fled through the hole, intending to go in the opposite direction. His plans were thwarted when he realized that the bodies of his boss and mentor were lying directly across the exit. His eyes watered, but he knew it wasn't the right time to grieve. He couldn't take the bodies with him either- then he'd never escape. He sobbed once in despair at the death of the people he considered family and ran in the other direction.

Ed heard rather than saw the young man follow him through the door and along the hallway. The teen glanced back, wondering why the guy was following the very thing he despised so much, and realized he was just following mindlessly, not even realizing his feet were moving through his sadness. Ed just let him follow. He'd had half a mind to eat the stranger, but unfortunately the guy still smelt slightly like garlic and it was putting Ed off his appetite.

Following his instincts, Ed navigated his way out of the large warehouse building easily, knocking out the occasional guard, soldier or worker. To tell the truth, there hadn't been a substance invented yet that could hold a vampire down, but the Homunculi didn't know that, and they would be quite surprised to realize Ed had escaped. In fact, it almost seemed like he'd escaped a bit _too_ easily, as if they'd never intended to hold him at all. Ed thought it over, but decided he was just being paranoid. If there was an easy exit, why not just take it without question?

Just as Ed reached the doors that led out onto the busy, worn street- southern Central, by the looks of it- he suddenly felt a… a pull. It enclosed his mind and dragged him in the direction it wanted him to go, and suddenly Ed was walking almost as mindlessly as the guy behind him. The pull directed him down a corridor and downhill to a right turn, almost exactly like the other hideout, until he was in the underground Factory. But the pull shoved him away from the screaming humans, agonized soldiers and acrid stink of dead bodies and into a new section, one Ed had never seen before. And if Mustang, Hawkeye and Havoc had seen it in the other factory, they would have said so.

Ed (and, consequently, the stranger as well) reached a door alike the four-foot steel one that Hawkeye had opened last time, and felt that whatever was ruthlessly dragging him to it was right on the other side. He forced it open with his shoulder, breaking the several solid locks it sported, and entered. Ed then froze in fear.

The room was another circular one, junk and treasure all mingled with each other thrown against the walls, with a gap in the middle. Several tables stood in the middle, holding strange but valuable-looking objects- probably the most valuable of all the treasures, and therefore they were being carefully conserved. But only one of the objects caught Ed's attention.

On the featureless table closest to him, there lay a light mist. It was a brilliant golden colour, and was in the shape of a human body, only flat- like a paper cut-out of someone. Ed didn't know how the golden mist was being kept together, but it never fell out of shape. The mist looked like a sleeping young boy, with no worldly troubles to bother him, causing the mist-teen to look younger than he probably was. Only thing was, the golden mist had long gold hair that was braided, with an antennae on top of his head. For the mist was the exact replica of Ed, only younger and human. It was an unearthly thing, transparent and intangible.

Upon seeing it, Ed felt a tidal wave of unexplainable fear wash over him. That… that _thing _was the cause of all his troubles! If it had been destroyed properly like it should have been instead of being given to the gate, then he'd be a full vampire! If he still had it…

If he still had it, Ed would remember everything- his brother, friends and family, his terrible past and all, and he would be completely human. Ed couldn't understand.

How the fuck did the _Homunculi_ manage to get their hands on his_ soul_?

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><p>Falman, Fuery, Alphonse, Winry, Mustang, Hawkeye and Havoc were all squashed in a joint hospital room. A curtain could be drawn across the centre of the room to separate Hawkeye's hospital room from Mustang's and Havoc's room, but it was currently pushed back, allowing all seven of them to be there at once. Hawkeye and Havoc were both finally awake, however Mustang was not. The Colonel still sported injuries from their venture into the last Homunculi's hideout, and he hadn't healed properly when he sustained his new injuries. The large group was discussing their circumstances.<p>

"I feel like these past few weeks were all for nothing! I mean, even after everything that's happened, we're _still_ back to trying to find Ed!" Winry sighed, the rays of the setting sun reflecting off her weary eyes.

"Not to mention about the secret war going on. Ed said the Clan thought the Homunculi weren't going to attack for a couple of days, at least. Well, it's been one night since then, and tonight's the second night." Havoc commented.

"The vampires probably have tonight and tomorrow night before another attack," Hawkeye thought out loud, her injured voice still hoarse. "I wonder how they knew the Homunculi's plans…"

"Hey… whose side are we on?" Al asked. Everyone's attention turned to him. "I mean, Brother's a vampire, but apart from him aren't the rest… well… evil? If so, then who should we help?" Abruptly, everyone remembered that Al still didn't know his brother didn't have a soul, and apparently no one was willing to tell him.

"We help Edward, mainly, and defend the rest of us humans. We shouldn't allow any human casualties in this war." Falman said firmly, and everyone quickly agreed. "Lieutenant, what should our first step be?" He turned to ask her, as she was in charge while Mustang was unable to lead the team.

To the shock of the other six, she was gone.

"Maybe she slipped out to get a drink or something?" Fuery suggested.

"…Probably. Anyway, I guess our first step should be to find out when the next attack is. We can't help Ed if we get caught unawares in the crossfire and die," Havoc said. "I'm sorry, Winry, that's just the way it has to- Winry?" But Winry had also noiselessly vanished.

"She probably went to help Hawkeye. Like a girl thing," Al shrugged.

"Right," Fuery agreed nervously.

"So, does that mean I should prepare for an infiltration of the Homunculi again?" Falman asked, glancing at Havoc… or rather, the place where Havoc had been two seconds ago.

"Havoc, too? This is just getting plain creepy!" Al bit his lip. "Right, Fuery? F-fuery!" Al's jaw dropped- the man was nowhere to be seen. He whirled around to ask Falman, but he had vanished. Mustang had also managed to disappear, his hospital bed abruptly empty. Al was alone.

"What's going on?" was all he managed to yell before he felt many hands wrap around his mouth, legs, arms and waist, silently lifting him despite his struggles. A sharp, dizzying pain suddenly sprung across his mind from being hit, and regardless of putting all his strength into staying awake, Al fell unconscious.

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><p><strong>AN: I think I just wrote the ultimate cliffhanger… :) This chapter was longer than usual, and the next one will be longer too. Anyway, if I get lots of reviews I will update faster, so what are you waiting for? Click on that lovely review button!**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: ATTENTION ALL FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST FANS: **

**Another FMA movie was released two days ago! (in the U.S.A., anyway) If you haven't heard about it, it's called the Scared Star of Milos and is set somewhere in the Brotherhood series. Since they never show anime movies here in Australia, I myself am waiting for it to be streamed to the internet, cause waiting for the DVD release takes far too long! (Though I'll probably save up and buy the DVD anyway when it comes out :) )**

**Ahem. Also, sorry about the three OC's, they're only in a couple of chapters, but I needed them to move along the plot. They are minor characters and the main focus of the story will stay on our favourite group of officers! (and Al and Winry as well). Remember to review!  
><strong>

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><p><strong>Chapter 16-<strong>

"…nothing but that damn white stone!" cried a frustrated voice. Mustang groggily opened his eyes, instantly shutting them again, for even the dim light of the hallway they were in was too much for his traumatized head. The conversation that'd woken him continued on in the background, barely audible. He groaned, rolling over and hiding his face in the soft thing his head was laying on, attempting to block out both the light and sound.

"Uh, Colonel?" Mustang heard Hawkeye's voice ask him quietly. He grunted in response.

"Do you mind?" She sounded increasingly angry. Mustang wondered why, and carefully cracked an eye open. He immediately realized he was about to get shot for this by his favorite Lieutenant, but couldn't resist a small grin anyway.

Hawkeye had put Mustang's head on her lap, deciding since he was injured it was better to keep his head off the ground, and had been rewarded for her kind thought by Mustang accidentally putting her in a… awkward position, to say the least. She ruthlessly pushed him into a more suitable spot, causing Mustang to see stars while lances of pain drove through his skull. Hawkeye frowned- if even that small motion bothered the Colonel that badly, he needed to be in a hospital. The only problem with that was…

"Where are we?" Mustang eventually asked, working through the pain. "What happened?"

Hawkeye looked grave. "Sir… we're in the Clan's underground city."

"_What?_" Mustang yelled, starting into a sitting position- which he regretted it the instant he moved. The Colonel threw up his hands to clutch his head, collapsing back to the smooth, chilly floor in excruciating pain.

"Colonel!" several voices cried concernedly, only just realising he was awake. Mustang heard the voices of all five of his team-

No, not five. Four. He suddenly felt a pang of pain that had nothing to do with his head, and was ten times worse. Closing his eyes, Mustang could hear the voices of Al and Winry as well- but, oddly enough, no Ed. Huh.  
>"Colonel, you shouldn't be moving so fast!" Al chided in a manner that made everyone smile, despite the dire situation.<p>

"The Clan's city? How?" Mustang opened his eyes cautiously, gazing up at Hawkeye with questioning eyes.

She quickly gave in to his heart-warming expression. "They… well, they kidnapped us, actually… we were ambushed in the car, do you remember?" At his nod, she continued on. "Well, Havoc, you and I were rushed to the hospital-"

"What about Fullmetal?" Mustang interrupted, attempting to will away the pounding in his brain. It didn't work. Apart from the god-awful pounding, he heard no sound- everyone fell silent. Mustang switched his gaze from Hawkeye to Al and Winry, noting their sad expressions.

"You mean… he's…" Mustang's mouth went suddenly dry, his heart rate doubling in panic.

"N-no, sir!" Fuery reported. "He's not dead; he was captured by the vampire hunters."

"Well that's a reli- wait, he's been kidnapped?" Mustang growled, realisation setting in. Everyone else grimaced, and Mustang just sighed. "Continue."

"The rest of us were at the hospital talking things over, but just a couple of hours before the end of shift we were all taken silently, one by one. Staring with the Lieutenant and ending with Alphonse," Falman continued.

"Wait, why were Winry and Al taken? And you and Fuery as well, Falman. Didn't they only want the Lieutenant, Havoc, and myself?" the Colonel asked. Now that his vision was no longer so blurred and narrow, he could see his team properly, and he abruptly inhaled.  
>They were battered and bruised, weary beyond belief. Some were injured, but it seemed no one was seriously wounded. No one apart from himself, that is. He couldn't even move without being blinded by pain.<p>

"I guess the Clan's realised by now that we're all a team and that we know just as much about everything as you three do, sir," Fuery told him. Mustang barely even heard his subordinate's reply.

"_And why are you all so injured?_" he scowled in anger.

Hawkeye hesitated. "Well…"

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><p><em>A couple of hours earlier…<em>

"We couldn't help that we were taken by the Clan. All we have to do is convince them to let us go. After all, they tried to summon us- there must be something they want! We just have to find them," Havoc said, and everyone else nodded grimly. Winry also seemed to be handling capture pretty well, thankfully. The group of seven were walking along the dim, shadowy, white hallways (except for Mustang, who was still unconscious and was being carried by Havoc and Fuery), and they were completely lost. It seemed if there were any vampires in the vicinity, they were avoiding the group of humans.

They soon found the reason for that. Falman was walking like everyone else when he stepped on a certain patch of floor, which vanished beneath him when a metal contraption locked around his right leg, digging into his skin and scratching painfully. He shouted in surprise- and warning. Everyone froze, except for Winry, whose reflexes were not quite on the same level as the rest. She also stepped on a booby-trapped piece of floor, but this time the device sprang from the wall she was leaning on, slicing to a halt around her left arm. She yelped in pain.

"It's a trap!" Falman warned as Al cautiously moved to aid him.

"I bet this entire hallway is a trap," muttered Havoc as Hawkeye did the same for Winry, who was trembling just slightly.

Abruptly, Hawkeye blinked in realisation. "They're testing us," she frowned. "To see if we're worthy of listening to what they have to say."

"That, and we just happened to have pissed them off because we didn't come here last night when they wanted!" Fuery was shaking as much as Winry.

Al managed to pry the imprisonment device open with a special catch, and Falman warily stepped out.

"Pull yourself together, Fuery. We didn't have a choice," Hawkeye reprimanded, also finding the special catch and shoving open the contraption around Winry. The teen gasped and cradled her arm gingerly. The team continued along the hallway much more carefully now, their guards up and mentally preparing themselves for anything they might encounter. As a precautionary measure, Hawkeye switched places with Winry so that she was up the front of the procession.

Their next test came in the form of projectiles, a bit like darts, which moved from one wall to the other with a speed almost too fast to see.

"Careful, they're poisonous!" Al yelled, seeing an unknown liquid drip off the tip of one and onto the floor, burning through the material in seconds, despite the fact the floor was like smooth concrete.

"What should we do? There's no way through!" Winry gulped. Thousands of the deadly darts barred the way from floor to ceiling, bouncing off the walls wildly. Then, it began to move forward, towards the group of comrades. Everyone stepped back carefully… then another, then another, retreating in order to keep their lives.

"If we keep this up, we'll be back at those capturing devices!" Havoc yelled.

"That's the point!" Hawkeye recognized the strategy to the traps. "You can't get free fast enough from those things- they hold you in place for the darts to hit!"

Fuery gulped nervously, but he thought he might have a plan. "What if we could capture the darts? I mean, have something on either side so they can't escape, then something underneath- if we can raise that it'll push the darts in a box practically against the ceiling and we can duck through in the space underneath!"

No one really understood what he meant, except for Al.

"Of course!" the teen realized, pulling a piece of chalk from his pocket. He dropped to the floor and drew a transmutation circle with the speed and expertise of an adept. He waited until the darts covered the opposite side of the circle before clapping his hands- a habit he'd picked up from his brother- and placing them on the side of the circle closest to him. The darts were perilously close when to walls sprang up, one on either side. The darts were trapped. Using the same circle Al broke off a piece of floor about four inches thick and, using the wall as a connection point, pushed the darts up until there was about a metre's space underneath.

Everyone ducked down and crawled over to the other side, although Havoc and Fuery struggled with pulling Mustang through. Al left the space there for an escape route, in case they needed it later. He felt good about himself for the first time in a long while- he hadn't been able to help with anything much since his brother vanished, and being kidnapped and causing trouble for everyone had only made him feel worse. But now, he'd successfully solved a life-threatening problem in time. He was helping his friends, and the thought made him smile.

The next test nearly killed four of them. The idea was that the floor moved first one way then the other, jerking the humans from side to side uncontrollably until they fell over. When Fuery, Havoc and Al fell over, consequently dropping Mustang as well, the floor melted and tried to swallow them, sucking them into the airless ground where they couldn't move until they suffocated in the dark, helpless.

However, Hawkeye, Winry and Falman all managed to keep their balance because they were together when it began- Hawkeye was helping the two newly injured along when the next trial suddenly appeared out of nowhere. They quickly knelt in order to pull up the others. The lack of air actually managed to make Al faint for a few seconds, but he woke after a few moments once the four were pulled out of the mess and could breathe again. Mustang was still unconscious, despite the trials his team were going through.

However, before the group could continue forward in the hopes of finding either the Clan members themselves or some sort of exit, two vampires appeared in front of them from out of nowhere- in the very same manner Edward favoured. The humans jumped wildly.

"Who are you? State your name and purpose!" Hawkeye pulled her gun (which was on her person at all times and had been brought with her from the hospital). She was getting exceedingly tired of all the bullshit, and ready to shoot the people responsible.

"Hold, human," said the oldest of the pair, not unkindly. "We are here to aid you."

Everyone's jaws dropped momentarily, and the group eyed the two vampires suspiciously.

"And why on Earth would _you_ aid _us_?" Havoc ventured sternly.

This time, the younger of the two replied. "Because of Edward." He received several disbelieving stares in response.

"You see, my younger associate here and I are one of the many pairs of guards to this place," the older male continued. "Edward is the only one who ever comes and goes, since the scouts use the actual scout tunnels."

"So he's the only one who ever bothers to talk to us!" the younger one finished. "Things have been so much more exciting with him around to talk to and everything. The rest of the Clan thinks he's crazy, but he's a friend of mine. And you're a friend of his."

"It's not a done thing for a vampire to feel pain over a human's death… or over anything, really. But my partner and I think that if you were to come to harm, Edward would also be hurt. We came here as soon as we heard news of your… appearance… to guide you through the rest of traps," the older one said. He held his right hand out to Hawkeye, who was in the front and closest to the pair of guards.

"I am Heath. Well met, young humans," he said simply.

"And I'm Ricky," the younger guard put in.

The military officers gave each other meaningful looks. Even if this was another trap, they didn't really have any choice but to move forward and hope for some sort of break. If it wasn't a trap, then things _would_ get a lot easier…

"Er… well met, Heath, Ricky," Hawkeye said eventually. The group of mortals were watching the two vampires like hawks- their guards were not down by any means. Heath formed a fist with his hand, and briefly touched it to his heart and forehead before opening it outwards to the group of humans in one smooth gesture. Ricky did the same, and Havoc guessed it was some king of greeting- like shaking hands.

The extremely odd group- five military officers (one unconscious), two teenagers and two vampires now made their way along the creepy corridor. The guards were true to their word- they lead them around every trap, both noticeable and otherwise, and there had been no more injuries for about an hour when the humans decided to stop and rest.

"We will go on ahead for a while and see if we can deactivate any more of the dangers," Heath told them, and vanished along with Ricky, exactly the same as Ed would.

"How the hell are they going to deactivate the traps? For as far as the eye can see, there's nothing but that damn white stone!" Havoc groaned in frustration.

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><p>"And then you woke up," Hawkeye finished, her raw voice grating horribly after the long talk. Mustang almost didn't believe her, despite the fact he knew she was serious.<p>

"Huh," he said intelligently.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Colonel Roy Mustang," an authoritive voice spoke behind him. Mustang turned carefully, avoiding any fast manoeuvers, and noticed the speaker.

Heath was a proud-looking vampire with definitive features and sharp eyes, around Havoc's age. His muscles, frequent small scars and easiness with his weapon told Mustang that when Heath was alive, he had been a soldier. Ricky was young, in both human looks and the years he'd actually lived. Around Al's age, perhaps a little younger, Ricky had become a guard out of quick reflexes and a firm determination when training. To be honest, Ricky was a bit like Ed and Al all rolled into one, with Al's nice nature and Ed's energy and determination.

"Well met, Colonel Mustang," Ricky smiled, flashing his fangs in a friendly manner. It didn't matter how friendly he was being- a smile with fangs like that was still creepy.

"Uh… yes. Nice to meet you both," Mustang replied. After all, according to Hawkeye, the two hadn't betrayed them yet.

Mustang hoped it would stay that way.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: I have come to a decision. I **_**will not**_** update this story unless I get a minimum of 4 reviews on the last chapter. Guys, I can see how many people read this. And every time I update this fic 31 people are notified right off the bat. So I think getting **_**4 reviews**_** should be pretty easy. I know you all have lives, but I think if you have the time to read it then you have time to review- it only takes a second. I don't care how long the review is. So, now it's up to you wether I update or not.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 17-<strong>

_How_ could this happen? How could _this_ happen? How could this _happen_? The question repeatedly rolled around Ed's mind in jumbled chaos. He couldn't make himself move- that odd fear held him in place, staring mesmerized at the golden mist on the table. He couldn't remember a time when his thoughts and actions had been in this much of a tangled mess.

Behind him, the young hunter hadn't stopped walking, as deeply absorbed in his sadness as he was. Consequently, he walked right into Ed, jumping in surprise at the sudden contact and returning his attention back to the present. When he realized exactly who he'd just bumped into, he stumbled back with a scowl. The guy looked around to get his bearings, hoping to find an exit, when he found himself looking at the very same thing that had captivated Ed.

Was that what he thought it was? He'd been told what a soul would look like, but mere words could never capture the true beauty of actually _seeing_ one. His eyes widened- if the soul was still here, then that meant that there had to be some poor human wandering around with no soul! He dashed forward, flying past the frozen vampire with a one-minded intent. He had to get closer and see what the soul looked like, so he would know who it belonged to. He slammed his hands down on the table and leaned forward, gazing at the soul's appearance- and he suddenly understood.

The young man looked back and forth repeatedly between the vampire and the soul. That explained the vampire's odd behavior, and also the reason why he hadn't felt the need to kill him. This vampire, who was really not much of a vampire at all, could be saved. His eyes lit up with the challenge- he would be the first Hunter to salvage a vampire! But… if the situation was truly like he thought it was, then that vampire couldn't stay here for much longer. Staring at one's very soul for too long would drive a person crazy.

He made a split-second decision to leave the soul behind and went back to the vampire.

"My name's Kevin," he said, wondering if the vampire could hear him. "You have to leave, now!" When the vampire made no move to do so, Kevin grabbed him by the sleeve and dragged him out of the room.

Ed felt the hand of the human, now known as Kevin, begin to pull him from the room. No! He had to stay, he had to do something! He wanted to destroy it once and for all, and stop living the awful half-life he was living now! Then he'd be a proper vampire and the Clan would have to accept him. He could live forever with Clan, just like he'd wanted to do from the very moment he'd joined it.

At the same time, some small, muffled part of him wanted to do the very opposite- it wanted to get his soul back, his memories back… and his humanity back. A part of him wanted to forget this entire mess and go back to living happily with his friends and family, like he knew he could. Well, maybe not _happily_ per se, but content at least. Ed was stuck between choosing his immortality and his humanity, the world he knew or the dangerous possibility of a better world, and he hesitated for the smallest moment. That moment was all Kevin needed, and successfully pulled Ed out of the room, slamming the door.

The spell on Edward broke, the weird fear vanishing and his thoughts calming a little.

"What just happened…?" Ed felt slightly dazed. He looked at Kevin sternly.

Kevin shrugged. "Look, I know about your situation now. The Hunters can help you! You're not really a vampire at all, are you?"

Ed scowled. "…If you _must_ know, I'm mostly vampire, thank you very much!"

"I thought so. You're really too short to be a full vampire anyway," Kevin commented thoughtfully. Ed twitched.

"WHO'RE YOU CALLING A RUNT SO SHORT THAT HE COULD GET LOST IN A TWO-PERSON CROWD AND NEEDS TO GO TO A FLEA FOR HELP?" Ed roared furiously, fuming.

Kevin paused. "…what?" he asked, genuinely confused. Was this some sort of side effect of a person being close to his soul that he'd never heard about?

Their heated discussion was cut short by a sudden scream, which was obviously human. Kevin gasped- there were humans being kept prisoner here! He had to liberate them. He shot off down the hall in the direction of the screams, unintentionally heading straight for the Factory. Ed sighed, knowing exactly what Kevin would find, and strolled down the hall towards the exit as well. He paused at the place the corridor turned, looking back at the doorway which led to the place where his soul was being kept. What on Earth was he going to do…? But he couldn't go in there alone- the spell would just come over him again and he'd be immobilized. So he simply left. He needed to choose, needed to decide what he wanted, and quickly.

Ed passed the Factory, pulling Kevin out by the collar of his shirt as he went.

"They're… the zombies, they're…!" Kevin cried, his eyes wide in horror.

"Killing and torturing hundreds of humans for their own sick gain," Ed replied. He could feel his usual, cold attitude coming back to him the further away they went, and it calmed him.

"And you Hunters wonder why we think you're on the wrong side," Ed finished. Kevin kept silent, absorbing the news. Ed was leading the way out, going back uphill to the doors he'd found earlier that day. He pushed open the doors and hissed like a wild thing when the sun abruptly hit his eyes. In all the 'excitement' he'd forgotten it was still day time!

Kevin blinked in the sudden light, watching the teen cover his eyes. Now that he could see Ed properly, Kevin noted his dusty black button-up shirt and trousers, black boots, and dirty golden hair. The vampire wasn't as old as he'd first thought upon meeting him- his actions were generally that of an adult, but appearance said he was much younger than Kevin had originally thought. He inwardly cringed at his mistake.

Ed moved back into the shade the door offered, his irritation level rising.

"Well, don't just stand there and stare, go back to your Hunter friends!" Edward scowled at Kevin and abruptly took off, moving away with his vampire speed so as to minimize the amount of time he had to spend in the sun.

Kevin smiled grimly. "I'll be seeing you again soon, vampire." He had learned many new things that night, about vampires, souls and the zombies- the Hunters had been terribly wrong about whom the real enemy was. Kevin stepped out onto the street, closing the door behind him, and tiredly rushed off to report to the Hunters.

"This is terrible!" the man frowned, watching the two young men leave the Factory.

"Did that not go to plan, Pride?" Lust purred, her lovely voice dripping with sarcasm.

Pride turned to face her, his usually placid expression livid with absolute fury. "The ex-alchemist was _supposed_ to eat the Hunter when he woke, and then 'escape' immediately, so that we could blame the Hunters' deaths on the vampires! He _was not_ supposed to leave the man alive to tell the story, and certainly _**was not**_ supposed to find our Gate room and discover all the things the Gate has given us in return for its service! Who knows what he found in there!" Pride was having great difficulty in holding back his anger. Lust watched with some interest; the sin had never so much as lost his temper before, at least not in the presence of anyone else.

"Can it, old man. Why can't I just dispose of the Hunter before he can tattle?" Envy spoke, stretching his fingers to mimic suffocating someone, a deadly grin in place.

"Because then it will be obvious that we were the ones who killed the old leader, idiot. Either way, we have a new enemy to deal with- the Hunters will target us now," Pride quickly reigned in his temper. After all, he was above those worthless creatures that constantly lost their temper easily.

"Why would that matter?" Lust asked, giving him an indifferent look. "They are simply a bunch of meaningless rabble. Their knowledge of our supernatural world is patchy and incomplete, and they are easily defeated and disposed of."

"Because now both that damned Clan and the Hunters oppose us. What do you think would happen if they were to form an alliance? Regardless of their stupidity, the Hunters' weapons can still kill us. They are a threat. Envy, go meddle in their affairs and make sure they don't team up with the Clan against us," Pride answered, turning to stare at Envy.

"What? Why me?" the sin groaned, rolling his eyes childishly.

"Because you can disguise yourself, obviously. Go." Pride held in chin up with the air of someone who was unwillingly in the company of someone far less regal and educated. Envy scowled as Pride pulled his rank- the sin's rank was ever so slightly above his own, and Pride always managed to rub it in. Envy scoffed and reluctantly left.

"Now what?" Lust examined her deadly nails, swiftly losing interest in the boring conversation.

"We give them as little time to prepare as possible. Sloth!" Pride called authoritatively. A lovely brunette woman slowly came through the door in response.

"Move up the date of attack," he ordered, feeling triumphant.

"Pride, that only works if we ourselves are prepared," Lust warned, moving off the wall she was leaning on and leaving through the door.

"We are ready," Pride narrowed his eyes. "We'll obliterate the Clan and rule Amestris once and for all, beginning tomorrow at Midday!"

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><p><strong>AN: Just to clear this up, the 'zombies' are the Homunculi, but Kevin doesn't know their real name. **


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: I'm so proud of you all! I asked for your support last chapter and I received an overwhelming positive response! XD The number of people reading has also zoomed back up to the amount it was before. I'm so glad to know you're all still interested in this! It was beginning to look like there was no point in updating back there. :/ But anyway, thank you!**

**I also apologize for the slightly late update. My computer died, and yes, it did have **_**all**_** my Night Eyes chapters on it. And me being the silly person that I am, I forgot to put them on a USB, and I lost all of them. My bad, guys! I've been working on re-writing this chapter for the past three nights straight- I have school and other commitments and stuff. I have to say, this chapter is pretty boring, since nothing really happened in it... but I needed to write something to get me back off the ground. I promise next chapter will be more interesting. :)**

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><p><strong>Chapter 18-<strong>

Ed scaled the walls of the military HQ building with unnatural ease, moving too fast for the human eye to see. After all, there were scores of military personnel in the building, all intent on doing their jobs (or, in some cases, avoiding the paperwork). Usually he only came at night when no-one was around, but he wanted to know what had happened to that meddlesome group of humans after the explosion. Not that he cared or anything, but Edward thought he should know if any of them were injured, in case they needed to make a quick escape or something. That was all.

He paused outside the familiar window which belonged to the Colonel's office, hearing voices come from inside.

"Do we absolutely have to, Major? Isn't there some way to postpone it?" an unfamiliar female voice spoke, sounding distressed.

"I'm afraid we must, second Lieutenant Ross. Colonel Mustang and his team will be declared Missing In Action. Something must have happened to them- no-one can simply vanish off the face of the Earth like they did. Of course, disappearing stealthily without a trace is an art which has been passed down the Armstrong line for generations!" another unfamiliar voice boomed, this time a male.

"This is terrible," said the first human worriedly. "They just vanished from the hospital room without a trace… no signs of a fight or anything…"

The voices faded as the pair walked away from Ed, but that was all he'd needed to hear. He already knew exactly where the group would be, and shot off in the direction of the entrance to the Clan.

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><p>Mustang leant heavily against the smooth surface of the wall. After travelling for another seemingly endless time under the guidance of Heath and Ricky, the group of nine had decided to stop to let the humans eat. The two vampires had completely forgotten that humans need to eat regularly, and once they remembered Heath sent Ricky off to find something for them. By this time, Mustang thought that Heath and Ricky were not a trap but were indeed their allies. Judging by the amount of traps they'd passed, if Mustang and his team had gone through alone they undoubtedly would have perished. Mustang glanced across to the older vampire opposite him as the others talked amongst themselves.<p>

"Exactly how long is this trap tunnel? Are we ever going to reach an exit?" the young colonel inquired wearily. After all this time, surely there had to be an exit around somewhere! In fact, it was probably day time by now. So much time had been wasted.

Heath returned his glance steadily. "There are exits placed periodically along the walls. We are just meters away from one such exit- the first one we will have passed since we joined you."

Mustang blinked and looked around, but the uninteresting, dim, white hallway was exactly the same as before- nothing had changed. If Heath and Ricky weren't there, Mustang suspected he and his team would never have found it.

Ricky returned soon afterward with some food, water, and a bulky bag, which Hawkeye immediately inquired about.

"Actually, I found these in one of our equipment rooms. They're yours, right?" Ricky grinned mischievously, setting the bag down and pulling it open. The bag held several guns and a pair of white gloves.

Havoc smiled as the officers all dove for their respective weapons. "Thanks, Ricky."

Al didn't need a weapon- as long as he had his piece of chalk he was fine. Winry, however, had never held a gun until that moment. Hawkeye held out the formidable metal killing machine to her with a serious, meaningful look in her eyes. Winry regarded it fearfully for a moment, before accepting the spare gun with trembling hands.

Soon the group was well rested and well fed, and were ready to move on with a new sense of energy and clarity. Mustang slowly stood, using the wall as a support. His head no longer burst with pain at the slightest indication of movement, and he could stand and even walk without suffering from more than an intense migraine.

"All right," Heath declared, leading the odd group to a specific part of the smooth wall. To Havoc's eyes, it looked exactly like every other wall he'd seen in this place. He'd kill to see a proper colour again!

"Ricky and I will escort you all into the presence of the Elders. However, as we are not Seniors, we will have to cease our guidance at the entrance. Mere guards are not allowed in the vicinity of the Elders without a summons," Heath gazed intensely into the eyes of Mustang, Hawkeye, Havoc, Fuery, Falman, Al and Winry. "It is probable that we will never see you again afterward."

"Because you're busy...?" Winry queried uncertainly.

"No. Because after you finish your penance task, the Clan will not let you live." Heath's quiet but frank words echoed chillingly off the barren walls. Without another word, he turned and ran his hand over the wall until, to Al's surprise, it began to glow. Heath pressed his hand down, activating a trigger of some sort, which pulled the wall apart into two distinct doors. The entrance grated as it moved outward to allow them access.

Mustang heard Winry gasp, but didn't turn to check because he was positively stunned. There were _hundreds_ of vampires in what appeared to be only one long room! The ceiling soared high above their heads, with several more levels above the one they were currently on. Below them, more levels stretched as far as the human eye could see. Several wrecked buildings were scattered across the vast space, most of them falling into ruins. After a moment, Mustang figured that it was like one main corridor, with millions of other corridors branching off the main one. He could remember Ricky saying that there were seven main corridors under Central alone.

Seven? Seven of these monstrous caverns utterly filled with vamps? Mustang gulped, and started when he realized he'd already pulled his gloves on unconsciously. He raised his right hand, poised in a pre-snap position, and stepped into the corridor. He could feel his team follow him, and smirked slightly. He knew it didn't matter where he led them- they would always follow him, faithfully, even into the utmost danger. In return, he would never allow any serious harm to come to any of them. Except... for one team member. Mustang knew he'd never forgive himself for what happened to Breda.

As the group of nine passed into the main hallway everything fell chillingly silent, and every head turned in their direction. Hundreds of crimson-red eyes blazed with fury and indignation that their food would dare to trespass on their territory. One man nearest to the group growled and attacked. Mustang acted purely on reflex- the vamp was far too fast for any coherent thought to form. He snapped as the guy was just centimeters away from his face, and left the charred remains to fall to the floor. He heard to gunshots as this occurred- another crazed vampire fell from Hawkeye's gun, but Havoc wasn't as good a shot as Hawkeye, and his bullet didn't kill the woman attacking him. She crashed into him, using her momentum to get close to his neck, and very nearly impaled the officer until another gunshot sounded, and the vampire went completely limp.

"Thanks, Hawkeye," Havoc coughed, covering his bleeding neck with his left hand, keeping his gun in his right. The woman had managed to scratch two long trails into the right side of his neck.

Mustang helped him up, but couldn't keep a smirk off his face. "I see you finally found a woman who chased you," he commented teasingly, and Havoc glared.

"Shut up, you womanizer!" he scowled, and Mustang chuckled under his breath, taking the words as a joke. If he took them seriously, he'd have to court marshal his subordinate.

The vampires had stopped attacking, partly because Heath and Ricky were now visibly guarding them, and partly because of the shock the crowd was feeling. Prey never even defended properly, let alone went on offense, and the revelation stunned the vicious creatures into immobility. The group began to move, heading across the room and halfway up the stairs, the vamps backing away as they did so. Just as they reached the top of the stairs, Al felt a claw slice down his back, and he gasped in pain as the vampire attacked from above. Hawkeye shot him quite efficiently, and Mustang incinerated another two. Again silence overcame the cavern as the vampires retreated to the shadows, watching and waiting for a single moment of weakness or vulnerability in which to attack.

Three levels and countless attacks later, they reached a deserted level which led into the top floor of one of the ruins, however this one seemed to be in better repair. Heath and Ricky both stopped here and bowed, using the hand-to-heart-and-forehead movement they'd used earlier to greet Hawkeye. When they turned to face the humans, each wore a serious and even slightly sad expression- as if they were somehow sending them to their deaths.

"The Elders live in here," Ricky said in a hushed tone, sounding awed.

"And so, we can go no further," Heath also used a low voice. "I hope with all my heart that somehow fate lets you all survive this encounter, so that we may meet again. Farewell."

"Goodbye," Ricky waved unhappily.

"But-" Fuery tried, but the two had already vanished like smoke.

There was a slight pause before Mustang spoke. "Let's go." He headed past them all, taking the lead again, with Hawkeye and Havoc to either side and Fuery, Falman, Winry and Al in the middle. The ruined, cracked doors swung open silently as they approached, and the weary group suddenly found themselves under the intense gazes of the Elders.


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: I really like this chapter and the next chapter (I wrote them as one whole chapter then split them into two later on). They were easy to write and have lots of action and suspense in them XD Remember guys, four reviews for chapter 20!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 19-<strong>

The room was vast, circular, and like always it was a dusty white colour. The Elders stood out incredibly in contrast. They were god-like and ethereal, and held a beauty unlike anything Mustang had ever seen before in his entire life. Their scrutinizing and judgemental eyes had no pupil or surrounding white areas; they were unending pools of deep crimson, and managed to glare at all seven humans at once. The Elders, dressed in robes of deep black or ruby, held completely still, and Mustang started to wonder if they were actually statues- except that nothing made by man could look like that. There were just three Elders in the room- all seated on majestic chairs that seemed more like thrones, only a couple of feet above Mustang's head. However, there were eleven other empty thrones lining the circular walls, and Mustang inhaled carefully. He didn't think he could stand the sight of fourteen of these creatures. Then, one of them spoke.

"On your knees, filthy mortals," he ordered emotionlessly, and Hawkeye couldn't pinpoint exactly where his voice came from- it seemed to come from all directions at once. When none of the seven reacted in time, the male Elder narrowed his eyes. That was all the warning that came before all of the humans felt a sudden pain flare down their throats and into their chests, their hearts suddenly unbearably heavy- so heavy none of them could stand up anymore. The seven all collapsed wearily onto their knees on the floor, suddenly acutely aware of just how bloody and dirty they were from injuries and travel. The group must look like a mess.

Havoc looked back up to the Elders just in time to see the woman on the left also narrow her eyes, and braced for the worst. However, nothing could prepare him for what came next. An excruciating pain exploded from inside of him, as if his internal organs had been set on fire and were ripping themselves apart. He gasped and collapsed completely, eyes wide, and felt himself being torn apart-

-only for the feeling to fade soon after into nothingness. Havoc shook uncontrollably, but no more pain came. From the corner of his eye, he saw the Colonel and the Lieutenant had also collapsed, like him. Al, Winry, Fuery and Falman came to their sides worriedly, but couldn't see anything outwardly wrong with the three. Havoc couldn't find the strength to move, or speak.

"That was the punishment you deserve for disobeying our orders. You disgusting parasites are lucky we allowed you to live. Surely you are grateful to us." The woman sneered.

"What the hell did you do to them?" Winry blurted angrily. In the same instant she spoke, her eyes became dazed and unfocused. Al shook her shoulders gently, trying for a reaction, but Winry just stared off into space unresponsively.

"Do not speak!" the man ordered. "By surviving the penance tunnel, you have proved to be worthy of a higher purpose than your current low ambitions."  
>"Ambitions to live away your short, meaningless lives in the dirt," the woman cut in cruelly.<p>

"We, chosen representatives of the Elders, speak for our entire counsel. You are to be set a task. To fulfill this task is to prove your atonement," the man continued, never moving a muscle.

"As if repulsive humans like yourselves can gain such a higher level of meaning as atonement," the woman injected ruthlessly. The officers found themselves getting angrier by the second; however, Al seemed to be in slight shock, and Winry looked limp- as if she was uselessly drowning in some kind of despair.

"If you can gain atonement by fulfilling your task, we will graciously let you go back to your pointless lives with no more damage than a slight memory adjustment. However, if you fail…" the man glared intensely at the seven.

"If you fail, we will locate and kill your friends, families and loved ones in front of your very waking eyes like the annoying rodents you are!" the woman looked like she wanted to laugh in happiness, but withheld from the action to maintain her 'dignity'. "And afterward, you will receive a similar fate… with the appropriate level of agony involved."

Mustang shuddered, still on the floor. Somehow he thought their appropriate level of pain was vastly different from his own. None of the humans spoke- an unnatural force prevented their mouths from moving.

"The task is a simple one, fit for the likes of you. It involves the new vampire you contact so much," the man then moved, just to gaze at the third Elder momentarily before glaring back to the humans in front of him.

Finally, the third Elder spoke, in a surprisingly soft and completely undisgusted tone. "You must locate the soul of the vampire known as 'Edward'. Then, in order for him to take his proper place here in the Clan, you must destroy it."

Mustang felt his heart drop into his shoes. Destroy Fullmetal's soul? Turn him completely into some bloodthirsty, vicious monster? No way in hell would he do that! But he couldn't bring himself to speak.

The second woman continued. "This is a task only you can do-"

"Remember, death comes with failure," the first woman cut her off hurriedly, causing Hawkeye to wonder. "Now leave my sight. I cannot stand to have such horrible, revolting _things_ in the vicinity for so long."

Mustang blinked, and started. Before he'd closed his eyes, he'd been on the floor, a couple of meters below the Elders, under their deadly interrogation. But when he opened his eyes again, he found himself out in the corridor again, looking at the closed doors that led inside. When had the Elders moved them? He gazed around and found his team behind him, all looking as stunned and dazed as he felt at the sudden change of scenery. There was a slight pause.

"Is… everyone alright?" Mustang asked slowly, feeling his voice come back to him. His strength also returned, and he pushed himself up onto his hands and knees, took a breath, and sat up properly. His question was answered by various groans and nods as everyone slowly got up off the smooth floor.

"Sir, Winry doesn't look right… she's not responding to anything, either," Fuery spoke for the first time in a long time, waving a hand in front of Winry's face. She gave no reaction.

"Can she walk?" Hawkeye asked, hiding her worry with professionalism. Fuery and Havoc both attempted to get her to move, but to no avail. They didn't know what the Elders had done to Winry, but it looked like she wasn't going to recover any time soon.

Mustang frowned concernedly. "Carry her." Havoc picked Winry up in a piggyback position and the group began to walk. This level was completely deserted- but an unspoken consensus among the seven urged them all to put some distance between them and the Elders. Eventually they all wearily settled in a small, circular niche carved into one of the walls. Every single one of them was abruptly, unexplainably tired.

"Did anyone else notice what I saw?" Hawkeye started the conversation, her voice rasping horribly from her unhealed injury.  
>"What?" Falman asked as everyone looked at her.<p>

"The horrible woman cut off that other woman when she said 'This is a task only you can do'. I think they might actually need us, but they didn't want us to know about it," Hawkeye said thoughtfully.

"And that's why we're still alive…" Fuery gulped.

"I don't understand something," Al suddenly spoke. He'd been silent since they'd left the Elders.

"What's wrong, Alphonse?" Mustang asked Al. The teen shifted unhappily.

"Well, they said… that our task was to find and destroy Brother's soul. I don't understand- wouldn't his soul be in his body?" Al's face scrunched up in thought as he tried to figure it out. Everyone else froze- they'd completely forgotten that Al didn't know about his Brother's soul being gone! Al had been kidnapped when the rest of them had found out, and no-one had been willing to break the bad news to the usually bubbly teenager.

Mustang hesitated. "Um, well… er… I guess… uh…" His mouth was moving and sounds were coming out, but he just couldn't think of a good way to word it.

"Alphonse…" Mustang put his hands on Al's shoulders and tried to look directly into his confused eyes. "Your brother… Ed doesn't have a soul."

There was a moment of silence before Al's unusually sharp "_What?_" echoed through the dim tunnel.

"I'm sorry, Al. Ed… he gave up his soul in order to get your body back," Mustang rushed on. "He did it for you."

"B-but- he said he'd found a new type of Alchemy which bypassed the need for a price! I helped him research it!" Al cried, distressed and horrified. Havoc flinched, but Mustang remained steady.

"He did it for you," Mustang repeated. "He didn't know he'd still need to have price until you two had already started the transmutation. Then it was too late. But don't worry; we'll get it back for him."

"…Really…?" Al asked slowly, placing his trust in the older man.

"I promise," Mustang replied. "After all, if we're the only ones who can find and destroy Ed's soul, doesn't that mean we're also the only ones who can find and save it? It's up to all of us to help Fullmetal. Between all seven of us, we'll figure it out. Okay?"

Al took in a shuddering breath. "Okay!" He gave a small half-smile. Everyone else sighed in relief that he took it so well.

"We have another problem…" Fuery carefully intervened. "What happens when we don't 'fulfill the task' or whatever? Us and everyone we know will die- they'll kill us all!"


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: Thank you to all my anonymous reviewers! I can't answer you obviously because you don't have an account, but I appreciate your comments very much! ^_^**

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><p><strong>Chapter 20-<strong>

Before anyone could answer Fuery's question, a swift vibrating noise echoed down the hallway. Just a split second after that a blur rushed past them, back the way they'd came, and an unexplainable wind blew them all back. The noise faded again.

"…Was that a vampire that just ran past us?" Hawkeye sounded oddly mystified. "It didn't attack or anything…" As she spoke another blur went past, again throwing everyone off balance. Then another, and another. Not a single vampire that passed them gave the group of humans a second glance.

"What's going on?" Falman asked sternly. Havoc picked up the still-unresponsive Winry and they all rushed down the hallway, back to the stairs. Several more vampires passed the team as they went, some going down the stairs, but most coming up. Mustang led the way down the stairs, everyone running down after him with their weapons drawn, just in case. The level below them had been thrown into utter turmoil. Vampires sped about every which way as fast as they could possibly go, making it exceedingly hard for the group to see. This time, the humans were completely ignored. The level of noise made it impossible for the team to talk with one another, so the Colonel and the others tried to get out of the way, but ended up having to go down several levels before they found a side-tunnel which had been completely emptied.

"What the heck is going on here?" Havoc shouted above the noise of thousands of feet running as fast as they could.

"I have no idea! Keep your weapons drawn and your guards up!" Mustang ordered. The team unconsciously formed a circle, going back-to back.

"Does anyone else hear that?" Falman asked.

"Hear what?" Mustang wondered, glancing around.

"I hear it!" Fuery said, shaking.

"Me too. What is that?" Hawkeye could barely be heard over the immense noise. Slowly, Mustang could hear something odd too- a bit like the rushing sound of a waterfall. A cold, forbidding feeling overtook the Colonel, and he suddenly broke the circle, going to the entrance of the side-tunnel. His team confusedly followed. They all glanced into the now half-emptied level, only to see something shocking.

A sinister, black liquid was flowing over the stairs, gradually getting higher as the rushing noise grew louder. The seven humans watched as it flowed over the topmost stair and onto the level they were on, spreading much faster now. The vampires avoided it at all costs, crowding hopelessly onto the stairs; however, they couldn't all fit and one unfortunate vampire got caught in the stream of liquid as it flowed over his feet. Hawkeye began to notice steam coming off the place where the submerged stairs would be.

The vampire attempted to maneuver away, but quickly cried in pain, moving from one foot to the other. The group of humans watched in horror as the vampire began to convulse, collapsing to the floor with steam rising off him readily. Mustang could only stand in shock as the vampire's very skin began to burn away, blood mixing in with the black liquid. Falman hurriedly turned Al away, and Havoc covered Winry's eyes, just in case she could still see what was happening around her. Although both teenagers had seen such sights before, as Al had seen similar things on his travels with Edward and Winry was an automail mechanic whose parents were doctors, for some reason the officers didn't want them to see this. Bullets and lacerations were one thing- seeing someone burn away from the outside in from some unknown liquid was an entirely different matter.

"Acid…" Hawkeye realized, referring to the liquid. "…The Homunculi are drowning the vampires out of their tunnels like rats… using acid…" Her eyes widened involuntarily, despite her attempts to quell her shock and disgust. The group turned away, unable to watch as the acid corroded its way through the vampire.

"What? The Homunculi aren't supposed to make their move yet, it's too early! We had another good 24 hours!" Havoc shouted.

"They've moved the date of their attack for some reason," Mustang mused. "Everyone stay calm."

Fuery still couldn't help but panic.

"It's coming towards us! Look!" he yelled, trembling. Mustang saw the acid out of the corner of his eye, steadily coming closer to the entrance of the tunnel they were in as the entire hive of the vampires gradually became completely submerged.

"We won't have time to get across the hall to the stairs- the acid's already covering that area," Havoc frowned.

"Even if we could get there, the stairs are too crowded. We wouldn't fit anyway," Falman told him.

"We'll have to stay here, in this tunnel." Mustang ordered authoritatively. Hawkeye looked at him in shock.

"But sir, this is probably a dead end tunnel! We'll be trapped once the acid reaches the entrance!" Hawkeye yelled.

"There's nowhere else but here to go, Lieutenant. Besides, look," Mustang gestured to the entrance of the side tunnel, backing away cautiously. The team gasped and swiftly backed up as the acid flowed through the entrance and slowly crept towards them. There was nowhere else to go, and no-one that knew where they were. They were trapped.

"Sir, what do we do?" Havoc asked the Colonel. Everyone looked at Mustang, silently asking for directions, asking him how they'd survive this one.

"Everyone, separate and head down the back of the tunnel and look for any exits or side rooms that could lead us out of here or, failing that, at least keep this acid off us. Stay away from that liquid at all costs. Make lots of noise in order to tell everyone else your location and that you're alright. Go," Mustang ordered, moving off as well. The group scattered, searching every room and smaller tunnel they came across. For what seemed like eternity they searched everywhere, constantly moving to the back of the tunnel and yelling out to each other, until…

…they hit a wall. The group came together at the very back of the tunnel, and no exits had been found.

"I didn't think I'd die like this," Havoc sighed sadly. "Always figured I'd die of lung cancer…"

"I only just got my body back…" Al whispered. "And… Brother's not even here…" He felt his eyes tear up.

Mustang stayed silent. He'd led his team into this. He'd made all the wrong choices and his team had to pay the consequences with him. He didn't have the right to speak. Hawkeye noticed his expression and guessed what he was thinking. She put her hand on his shoulder comfortingly, but he just bowed his head. The group was now sitting in a line with their backs against that horrible wall, and they could all see the approaching acid pick up its pace.

"I'm too young to die!" Fuery was panicking.

Al blinked. "Hold on, I'm younger than you!"

"That doesn't mean I can't be too young to die as well!" Fuery trembled. After he spoke, a rumbling noise came from above their heads. Everyone looked up as a line of light shined through a small hole above their heads.

"Ah! We're saved!" Al cheered, leaping up and trying to reach the ceiling, but it was far too high. Everyone scrambled to their feet, alternatively watching the spreading light and the acid just meters away. The light looked like a trap door, but it was simply too high for anyone to reach, even with somebody on someone else's shoulders.

"It's not opening fast enough!" Hawkeye shouted as well as she could, watching the acid. It was about five meters away.

But then the trapdoor opened, and a pale hand reached through and out of it. Al, being the closest, jumped up and grabbed it first, and was quickly lifted through the opening and up onto the next level. Just before Al was lifted entirely onto the next level, Mustang thought he saw an expression of utter shock cross the young man's face, but it had vanished just as fast as it came. The hand was offered once again through the space. Was it Ed?

Havoc passed Winry up first, then went up himself; Hawkeye was next closest, followed by Fuery. By the time it was just Falman and Mustang left, the acid was just half a meter away.

"Quickly!" Mustang shouted, making Falman go first. When he glanced down, the acid was mere centimeters from his right foot. The hand appeared again and Mustang grabbed it, pulling himself up with his own strength until he was hanging in mid-air about a foot above the acid. He watched as it covered the place he was just standing in.

Then, the mysterious hand pulled him up to safety, and relief flooded through Mustang's veins. He looked up, about to thank his unknown savior, and froze. Shock stopped any thought from forming and he sat there uselessly, his mouth hanging slightly open, completely unable to comprehend the impossible sight before him. His savior smiled knowingly. Mustang disbelievingly whispered the name of the man who had just saved all their lives.

"_Hughes…?"_


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21-**

Ed reached his usual entrance to the Clan at about 12:30. Now, normally that would've been fine; except that it was 12:30 pm instead of am, and he was completely beyond irritated by the sun. He really felt like beating something to a pulp. Luckily for Ed, there were plenty of options for that.

For when Ed reached the entrance, he was immediately surrounded by chaos. Some of the Homunculi soldiers had surrounded the entrance, and when the crowds of vampires attempted to climb up and out, they would shoot them- or, if a vamp got close enough, the creatures would just rip out their throats entirely, stopping the wounds from healing. Ed didn't know why they wanted to get out of the tunnels so badly, but he guessed the Homunculi had something to do with it. This angered him even further. He sprinted towards them, taking out three in one inevitable attack. The soldiers quickly turned on him, but he was fast enough to avoid both their bullets and their sharp claw-like nails. While he distracted the creatures, the trapped vampires clambered to get out.

Looking down, Ed saw why his fellow vampires hadn't simply healed from the bullets- they were filled with acid. Once you'd been hit or even just grazed, acid entered your bloodstream and burned you from the inside out. He'd have to avoid those. His speed accompanied by his irritation meant he finished off the small group of soldiers hanging around the entrance, and soon there were crowds of vampires around him, crying out, hissing and covering their eyes from the hated sun. Ed looked over his shoulder and swiftly spotted the main group of soldiers; his eyes widened. There were _thousands_ of them, possibly even more than the vampires! Luckily, vampires are immensely smarter than the soldiers, so defeating the enemy should still be fairly easy. That was when he realized it.

The vampires were completely blinded, stumbling around wildly- while Ed went to the surface periodically, they'd spent their entire lives underground, and to them the sun consumed their entire vision. Having lost their sight, they were attempting to rely on their other senses- however the creatures, having been made unnaturally, had no scent and made no sound other than the occasional moan of misery. With no way to sense the location of the enemy, they'd be picked off one by one like chickens in a pen!

The Homunculi soldiers were quickly approaching, and Edward made a fast decision. There _was_ a way for some of them to sense where the enemy was.

**:What the hell are you all doing? Don't just stumble around like prey! Don't you have dignity as predators? Don't you have any pride in being what you are? Use your sixth sense to locate the enemy so they can be destroyed! They have driven us from our comfortable tunnels. You would let them live after this atrocity?:** Ed broadcasted his message to the entire crowd. His telepathic call-to-arms sent lances of pain through his brain from the strain of connecting so suddenly to so many minds, but he ignored it. Not every vampire had a sixth sense, but those that did could use it to 'see' much like normal vision. The more infuriated one was, the sharper their sixth sense got, and Edward was trying to make them angry- that way the vampires would be far more effective.

As he watched, about a quarter of the vampires suddenly stood more securely, with more purpose. They headed determinedly in the direction of the oncoming creatures, unintentionally forming a defense between the soldiers and their fellow vampires. Ed quickly compared the size of the Homunculi's army and the crowd of vampires. There were about four thousand soldiers, all armed, and all programed to kill. There were only two thousand vampires currently above ground, and of those only about five hundred were effectively using their sixth senses. There were about two thousand more vampires underground, but they were spread out along the length of Central and its surrounding areas- it could take a good couple of hours to get them assembled, and even then only a quarter of them would be able to defend properly. Things didn't look good at all. They only needed to hold out until night time, when the vampires could use their full force- till then, they were pretty much screwed. He scowled. They needed more numbers. But where could they possibly get reinforcements from?

* * *

><p>"Sir!" the man cried, bursting through the double doors into the meeting area. Everyone looked around at him.<p>

"What is it, soldier?" the new head of the Hunters inquired sharply. She had been elected merely minutes ago, after news of the last leader's death had reached the association.

"T-there's thousands of them, sir! All crowded in the far rural area of Central! I saw them from my post, sir!" the man panted, in slight shock.

"Thousands of who? The vampires? The zomb- uh, the Homunculi and their army? The demons? Speak up, soldier!" the authoritative woman frowned.

"The Clan and the zombies, sir," the man began to recover his breath, speaking more clearly now. "They appear to be fighting one another. It's a full blown war, sir!"

The leader of the Hunters frowned in consideration. "Alright. Take this news to the cover section and have them ensure no stray civilians head that way, lest they see those monsters- or even worse, are caught in the crossfire."

"Yes sir," the man bowed and sprinted off.

"A war? Between two of the most significant supernatural forces in Amestris?" one of the Hunters mused thoughtfully.

"It's like I told you all!" came a younger voice, and Kevin stood up from his seat. "The Homunculi and their army are the enemy here! If those vampires lose, the Homunculi will take over the entire nation and kill everyone in sight! Life as we know it will end. We need to aid them!"

"That's ridiculous, boy. We can't assist vampires, they're deadly killers. We should leave them to fight and kill each other off. Then we won't have a problem here anymore," an elderly woman spoke. She was Head Advisor, and was closest to the leader of their association; but if you looked carefully, you could see her usually clear green eyes had a cloudy amethyst tint.

"But the vampires are losing! The Homunculi will just kill all of them, and then they'll have no opposition themselves! We'll have an even bigger problem than before!" Kevin argued forcefully. He needed to make them understand!

"Quiet!" shouted the Head of the Hunters. She stood from her chair, and the loud chatter that had arisen died instantly.

"Our young soldier is right," she nodded at Kevin. "The zo- Homunculi have killed our previous leader… my father." Her eyes blazed in fury. "They are kidnapping and torturing civilians. They must be eliminated immediately!" Battle cheers arose at her words.

"But sir, have you forgotten all the vampires have done? Attacking and feeding on humans, practically torturing them-" the elderly advisor protested.

The leader cut her off. "I know, Jasmine. But today, we are facing the same enemy. We are not allies- we have simply been hurt by the same group of monsters. Today, we fight the Homunculi! Mobilize the troops- we head out in one hour!" Everyone sprang up from their chairs, rushing around to get ready to fight in a supernatural war. The Head Advisor scowled vulgarly and slipped off into a nearby deserted corridor, with a single phone hanging in one corner. She dialled a number and waited.

"What?" came Pride's voice from the other end.

"It's Envy. The mission failed," said the Advisor, her calm, rough voice changing to an entirely different, deadly tone. "The Hunters are with the vampires today."

"You failed?" Pride shouted into the phone. "You fool!"

"Don't worry so much, ya conceited idiot. We'll still win. After all," Envy grinned maliciously, "We still have our secret weapon."

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><p>Mustang froze in shock after seeing the grinning, bespectacled man in front of him.<p>

"Roy! Long time, no see! You look absolutely terrible. Are you a general yet?" Hughes beamed. Roy couldn't speak; he actually felt a bit faint. He leant forward and, to everyone's surprise, slowly put out his right hand until it hovered close to Hughes' left shoulder. Mustang hesitated, before carefully placing his hand on Hughes' shoulder. It didn't pass through the man like mist, like he'd expected; Mustang could feel solid skin beneath his touch. So he wasn't hallucinating… His head hung low, bangs covering his eyes. Hughes was real… he was alive. Mustang couldn't help it- he pulled Hughes into a hug, oddly ignoring the unprofessionalism of his actions. His subordinates watched in silence, shocked by Hughes' appearance. After a moment, Mustang shoved Hughes away and punched him.

The others cried out in surprise as Hughes fell to the floor, too stunned to catch himself.

"You moron, how _dare_ you die on me like that? You were supposed to help me to the top, but then you go and get yourself killed! On top of that, you were promoted to a rank _above_ me! Then when I finally see you again, you go and say _that_? You thoughtless bastard!" Mustang fumed, his pent-up fury and sorrow over Hughes' death rushing out all at once and momentarily consuming his soaring feeling of joy at knowing his best friend was alive.

"Sorry, Roy. It was pretty stupid of me to get killed like that, I should have been more careful- wait, what? A rank above you?" Hughes blinked innocently. Mustang scowled, his friend was anything _but_ innocent.

"You were promoted to Brigadier General after your… death…" Mustang suddenly fell silent, realizing how awkward what he'd said had sounded.

"General…? Sweet, Gracia would have been so proud! And Elysia would have been so happy for daddy! I wish I could have seen it, I would've taken a photo!" Hughes daydreamed momentarily. Mustang really wanted to hit him again- especially since his last one was already healing.

"It's good to have you back, Brigadier General Hughes. Thank you very much for saving us," Hawkeye said formally. "However, I feel we still have a more pressing problem on our hands. How are we going to escape from these tunnels before the acid fills them, if the main entrance is already blocked?"


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: Just thought I'd warn everyone, this chapter is slightly gorier than the other chapters. This is because we've arrived at the war part of this fic. Also, Ed is extremely OOC, even more than usual. Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 22-<strong>

"Of course. There's more than one entrance to this place, you know," Hughes turned to Hawkeye. "While the one off to our right- the one that comes out in an abandoned building, the one that Edward uses- is considered the 'main' entrance, there are several other, smaller entrances scattered along the hallways."

"Are there any other exits near us?" Mustang demanded, still furious. "Wait… Edward knew about you? And he didn't tell me?"

Hughes looked sheepish. "To be fair, he wasn't allowed to tell you. By rights, you seven shouldn't even be here."

Falman spoke suddenly. "Can you continue your discussion outside, please? I feel uncomfortable staying here." While Falman knew that Mustang and Hughes dearly needed time to catch up, now was definitely _not_ the time.

"Right, right," Hughes agreed, and turned, leading the way out of the tunnel with Mustang and the others close behind him. He was leading the way in what appeared to be a diagonal direction across the floor, heading straight for the opposite corner, when a familiar voice entered his thoughts.

**:Hughes!:** Ed shouted, sounding kind of panicked. His voice shook with the effort of holding something back.

**:Ed? What's the problem?:** Hughes wondered. It was strange for a vampire to lose his or her composure.

**:The Colonel and his team are somewhere in the tunnels! Al's with them! There's something bad going on in there, right? You have to find them and help them out!:** Edward sounded worried. Hughes smiled, the dim light reflecting off his glasses.

**:Way ahead of you, buddy! They're safe and sound with me- I'm already taking them to the ninth exit. I'll look after them just as carefully as I look after my lovely girls!:** Hughes beamed, thinking of Elysia and Gracia, and Havoc threw him an odd look.

**:… You mean your ex-wife and kid? The ones you haven't seen in a couple of**_** years**_**?:** Ed scowled on his end of the conversation, slicing through a soldier with ease and throwing another one into the ground, trying to keep his vampire side under control.

**:Ex-wife? What?:** Hughes' mouth dropped, and he received more weird looks from the humans following him.

**:Marriage is ended once one person dies, right? Widows re-marry all the time and it's perfectly legal…:** Ed didn't see what the problem was.

Hughes froze, and Mustang accidentally bumped into him. "Hughes? What's wrong?"

Hughes' only answer was dropping to his knees as a sense of despair washed over him. Ed's words made perfect sense… his baby girl wasn't his baby girl anymore! He began to shake as Mustang's team crowded around him worriedly, asking what was wrong. Hughes gave no answer.

**:Hughes, stop being such a baby! Once all this is over, just go and see her like I've been telling you to for ages! If she says she's still married to you, then you're still married, and there's no problem! But you'll never know if you **_**die**_** in there!:** Edward yelled, frustrated. He was beginning to lose his proper thoughts. They were losing, horribly, and the sun was weakening them all even further. This wasn't a time for personal breakdowns! Edward's words roused Hughes out of his senseless despair and returned some sliver of thought and composure back to the older man.

Hughes took a deep breath, and eventually replied. **:A-alright.: **He rose shakily to his feet, assuring the others he was okay, and practically sprinted in the direction of the exit. The humans had trouble keeping up, especially Havoc, who was still carrying the unresponsive Winry.

They reached the exit in no time, by going up two levels and taking a hidden side-tunnel, which led into stairs. At the top of the stairs the circular hatch had already been opened- someone had gone out of this hatch before them. The group of eight burst through the opening into bright sunlight, and Al cried out in joy at reaching a place of safety alive. Hughes also cried out, but for an entirely different reason. Pain struck his eyes and he covered them, hissing under his breath. The sunlight stung his very skin. He stumbled back, completely blinded, until he felt something cover him. It was still hot, but the sun's rays were longer hitting him. Hughes slowly opened his eyes and squinted.

Mustang had taken off his coat and covered his best friend with it. The thick, quality material effectively blocked the sun out.

"Thanks, Roy!" Hughes beamed. "I wish I could have recorded you doing that!"

Mustang scowled. "This is NOT the time, Hughes!" Havoc laughed under his breath.

"Ugh…" Fuery made a strangled noise, staring at something in the distance. They all turned around and froze, except for Hughes.

It was a sheer and utter bloodbath. Two warring armies extended for as far as the eye could see. Strange and horrifying soldiers pressed forward, slicing and shooting everything in sight, occasionally even one another. There was an extremely thin line of vampires holding the defensive, but they were aggressive- more than aggressive. They were maniac, filled with bloodlust and enjoyment at the killing. They howled and laughed crazily, biting and attacking any soldier within reach. It didn't seem to matter that they had no way of winning against the soldiers, or that they were losing, outnumbered eight to one. Behind this thin line, numerous vampires stumbled around blindly, trying any way possible to block the sun, but they didn't have Mustang's coat to shut out the sun and nothing else was working. They could, of course, smell the pool of blood forming along the defensive line, but couldn't join the battle. They were useless! Then came a sight which the team considered even more shocking and horrifying than the war. Edward came into view, covered with blood from head to toe, like every other vamp in the defensive line.

He'd completely lost control. The bloodlust of his vampire side had completely taken him over as he fought, and he laughed like a madman, screaming his joy into the air as he lunged and bit down on soldier after unfortunate soldier, crimson pouring from his mouth. His eyes were a full, glowing crimson, and he'd lost all parts of himself, of his human side. His skin glowed with an unnatural red tint- he looked like some sort of blood demon. A soldier managed to slice him as he disposed of several other creatures, but Edward just giggled crazily. He swung around to the soldier who'd injured him and, in full view of his friends and family, brutally ripped the creature in half.

Mustang and Hawkeye were too stunned to think, and Al slowly began crying. Fuery hurried to one side and threw up, horrified. Falman tried to comfort Al as best as he could, but the boy was traumatized. Havoc nearly dropped Winry in shock. Hughes noticed their reactions, and while the sight didn't bother him in the slightest he figured he should stop Ed.

**:Edward?:** Hughes sent, but all he received in return was static. **:Edward!:** His eyes widened in alarm. Usually, vampires with bloodlust had all their thoughts focused on one thing- killing. But Edward had no thoughts at all! How was that even possible? He needed to stop Ed, right now!

Mustang couldn't believe his eyes. The determined teenager who'd basically vowed never to kill anyone was ripping his opponents apart in some sort of mad glee. Suddenly he remembered all the times when he'd first met Edward again after he'd gone missing, when the teen would show up covered in blood with all sorts of wounds. Mustang gasped slightly in realization- he'd gotten that way by fighting these soldiers. He _did_ say he was a defender of the Clan. Did that mean that Edward let himself become this killing machine on a regular basis? Mustang shuddered disbelievingly. Beside him, Fuery, Falman and Alphonse were trying to process the sight of the Homunculi soldier-creatures. After all, they'd never seen them before.

Hughes abruptly took off using his increased speed, heading in Edward's direction, intending to pull the teen out of the battle. But before he was anywhere near the war, a new group of people intervened.

"We, the Hunters of Amestris, have made it our goal to eliminate you, Homunculi soldiers! I declare war! _Charge!_" a female voice rang out faintly over the clamour and dying screams. Mustang's team looked to their left to see something astonishing. Several tanks were rolling forward, followed by a couple of hundred people, who looked like completely normal humans. They advanced on the horrible creatures, ploughing through their back lines until the soldiers were ironically trapped between the vampires and the hunters.

"What are they doing? Even combined with the Clan, they still have only half the numbers as those soldiers- they'll be killed easily!" Hawkeye frowned. Just after she spoke, a thundering _boom_ rang through the air, and the ground momentarily shook slightly. An explosion rocked through the middle of the soldiers as a bomb exploded in their midst. Above the battle ground, several helicopters* flew over the scene, dropping bombs on the Homunculi soldiers whenever they got the chance. The vampires' screams of laughter increased in volume as the death toll increased, and Edward threw a couple of soldiers in the air in 'celebration', howling with merriment as he did so. The helicopters were flying very low, and Edward could throw pretty high; so a couple of unfortunate soldiers met their fate by meeting the helicopter blades. Mustang and his team winced and looked away, unwilling to watch Edward's madness.

Needless to say, the tide turned drastically, as it was now the soldiers' turn to be picked off easily like chickens in a pen. They were totally trapped, with no means of escape. The seven watching humans began to feel confident- the tide was now in their favour, and it looked like there was nothing the Homunculi could do about it.

They were wrong. Terribly, dreadfully wrong. Because the Homunculi had a weapon of the likes which no-one had ever seen before in all of history.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** * **I know there are no helicopters in FMA, but I've decided to still have them in this fic.**


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: I re-wrote this after my months' Hiatus. So if you've read the old chapter 23, please forget all about it, as it made absolutely no sense and I was completely out of it when I wrote it. Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 23-<strong>

Hughes reached Ed and grabbed the teen around the wrists, pulling both Ed's hands behind his back. Hughes used his right foot to knock the teen off his feet, and Edward stumbled, but Hughes caught him before he hit the ground and quickly dragged Ed away from the battle. Edward growled and struggled wildly, throwing himself from one side to the other in an attempt to break Hughes' grip, but to no avail- the older man didn't even budge. While in the mindless state he was in, Edward's strength and speed increased, but coherent thought was lost to him. He could do nothing more than thrash violently as Hughes pulled him away.

The Senior vampire then managed to hold him down with one hand, with extreme difficulty. He put his free right hand to his mouth and sliced a small cut into his palm using one of his fangs. The watching military team looked confused, but Mustang's eyes widened in remembrance. He had seen this being done before. Hughes placed his right hand on Edward's forehead, before quickly moving his left hand to cover his right. Edward froze, all movement unnaturally stopping in an instant, and his eyes closed.

This confirmed Mustang's suspicions- Hughes was doing to Fullmetal what Ed had done to Al, that day in the hospital after they'd rescued the younger teenager. Fullmetal had come into the room through the window, headed to Al's bed where the boy lay unconscious, and had proceeded to heal him using this exact procedure. Mustang remembered it very clearly. When Hughes lifted his hands from Edward's forehead, the remaining blood mysteriously glowed a light blue. Hughes held this hand straight out, palm down with his fist closed, and slowly opened his hand. Edward's eyes opened again at the same time, like he was being controlled and they glowed the same unearthly blue. The connection then broke, Ed's eyes returning to gold and the blood turned to dust and was carried away by the breeze. The teen sat up, blinking. He seemed confused, but no longer out of control.

"What happened…?" Ed put a hand to his head, wincing.

"You tell me, Edward," Hughes replied, looking unusually stern. "You lost it. Again." He looked… disappointed, somehow. Ed scowled. Hughes was beginning to make him feel guilty for doing something entirely acceptable by their shared society. He stood abruptly and crossed his arms.

"I'm just helping out. We're winning now, anyway," he muttered. Despite his words, he didn't re-join the battle- he turned and headed back to the awaiting humans. Hughes followed him. Behind them, the Hunters and the vampires were quickly eliminating the mindless soldiers.

**:Be careful how you handle them. They're all pretty stunned at your little show back there- it might not take much of a push for one or more of them to break.:** Hughes reminded Edward, but the younger man just rolled his eyes.

The two reached the horrified humans, and Edward opened his mouth to speak- but he never got the chance. A cacophony of noise bombarded the group's ears, despite their distance from the battle. The nine swung around in shock, wondering why the screams of hundreds of people were suddenly slicing through the air. If the military officers had been horrified before, then the sight before them now stopped their hearts from terror. Edward clenched his fists, feeling his bloodlust attempting to return, but he shoved the thought away. He refused to be controlled by his vampire side, and his stubborn strength paid off when the feeling settled- still present but no longer bothering him.

Beside him, Hughes pushed up his glasses.

"Well, that is problematic," he announced, unnaturally grave.

"Wh… wha… _what is that thing?_" Hawkeye's stunned voice spoke. Her injured voice sounded entirely composed, but her words betrayed her fear.

Edward frowned. "It's… I think it's familiar to me." The others stared at him, but then Al spoke.

"We both know it, brother. That's the Gate I told you about- and it's controlled by the Truth." Al whispered, stressed beyond belief. His world had been turned upside down- he'd been trying to deny to himself that Ed had lost his soul, but that had come crashing down when he saw his brother slaughter his enemies. He didn't know what to think. Ed's personality, determination and strength were what made him… him. Without a soul, was Brother still Brother? Al lingered in uncertainty.

"The Gate? How?" Mustang scowled, ignoring the pain in his head from his wounds. He received no response as the very earth beneath them shook, knocking over everyone involved in the war.

The sight which had everyone stopped in terror was floating above the very middle of the war zone. Indeed, it was the gate- somehow it had manifested in the real world! Beside the gate, there was some kind of white platform was connected to it- on this stood the Homunculi Pride and Sloth. Envy was also present, standing on top of the monstrous manifestation. Before the eyes of thousands of humans and supernatural creatures, the Gate opened a sliver, bright white shining through. Black hands shot through the tiny crack, swiftly forming a square around some of the blinded vampires. They looked around in confusion as an abrupt white light shone under their feet, and a gigantic purple eye opened beneath them. The eye split in two, suddenly forming doors, and the eye turned into a miniature Gate. The vampires screamed wildly, desperately. They knew something was wrong- they could feel an evil presence watching them, sending alarms throughout their very being. Then, the entire square of nearly a hundred vampires was sucked violently into the miniature Gate- they were swallowed. The Gate and the light vanished along with its prey, and the hands withdrew back to the actual Gate. The same thing happened on the other side, with nearly a hundred humans vanishing of the face of the Earth after being swallowed by the Gate.

"Hahaha!" Envy grinned, and nearly lost his balance from his perch on the Gate. "As if we would leave our victory in the hands of worthless, deformed soldiers. This is our _real_ weapon!"

"The Gate…! The Homunculi have control of the Gate! How could that possibly be?" Al was on the verge of panic. What the hell had happened to Truth? This couldn't be happening!

"Hold on!" Havoc freed a hand from carrying Winry and put it to his head, confused. "Am I the only one who sees Fuhrer King Bradley standing on a freaky floating door that's killing people?"

The hunters' helicopters suddenly rounded on the Gate, flying above it and dropping three heavy bombs, hoping to eliminate this weird new weapon.

"Don't! You'll be killed!" Mustang shouted to the pilots, but the noise of constant screaming blocked out his warning. The first bomb whistled down to just above the Gate, making impact just three metres from Envy. A plume of smoke prevented anyone from seeing as the weapon exploded. The smoke then cleared.

The Gate was completely untouched- it didn't bear a single crack from the bold attack. Envy was also still whole, grinning mockingly at the helicopters in triumph. The second and third bombs also fell towards the Gate, but millions of black hands shot out and formed a ring around the weapons. Again, an eye opened, turned into a set of doors, and swallowed the two bombs before the Hunters' disbelieving eyes.

"There's no point to your weak counter-attack." Pride held his chin in the air arrogantly. "We are the masters of this weapon. It protects us."

The Gate opened again, attacking both the vampires and the humans. Hundreds of the Homunculi's enemies disappeared into the Gate, and there was nothing they could do about it. All the fighting had stopped the instant the Homunculi appeared with the Gate- people scattered wildly to try and avoid the Gate's wrath, but it picked them off with the ease of a crow eating worms.

"We need to stop the Gate! It's hurting our kinsmen!" Hughes turned to Edward.

The younger teen shrugged his shoulders. "What do you want me to do about it?"

Hughes grabbed his shoulders and tried to shake some sense into the frowning vampire. "You used to be an alchemist! Surely you've remembered _something_ by now!"

"Nope," Edward replied coolly. "Don't touch me." Hughes backed off with a sigh.

"Everyone!" Mustang's voice surprised them all as he spoke to them sharply. "Make for the cover of that hill over there. It's still unsafe here, and there isn't anything we can do at the moment. Everyone get out of the hazard zone, now!"

"Sir yes sir!" The military officers replied. Hughes saluted and Al nodded, and they all sprinted for the relative safety of the hill in the distance. As they ran Al searched for his brother, but couldn't see him anywhere. Had he been swallowed by the Gate?


	24. AUTHOR'S NOTE

**A/N: Hey guys. In advance, I AM REALLY, REALLY SORRY. But, unfortunately, I am putting this story on Hiatus. For anyone who doesn't know what that means, I'll be putting Night Eyes 'on hold', or giving this story a break. **

**BUT IT IS NOT DISCONTINUED! I will start writing again around the 6****th**** of April 2012- that's the Easter holidays. It's about a month away. You see, it's not just that I'm inhumanly busy, (which I am), but something awful has happened to me involving lots of doctor's appointments. However, I'm not going to tell the entire internet what it is. I just need a little time away from pressures and stuff. I am so, so incredibly sorry to everyone who's still reading, especially Awesomenaruto (who is an outstandingly wonderful and supportive person).**

**Also, I'm sorry to everyone to whom I said I would read their stories! (TheBlackRose and GoldenGriffiness, I'm talking about you here ^_^) I simply don't have the time. I will later though! **

**I know I'm not supposed to post just author's notes without a chapter, but you guys really need to know this, and I don't know where else to put it. So, yeah. Again, I'm really sorry (especially after being really bitchy about reviews earlier) but there's nothing I can do. If you want to ditch this story and never read it ever again, I totally understand.**

**Well, I guess that's it from me. Take care of yourselves until I see you again on the Easter holidays! Bye!**


	25. Chapter 24

**A/N: Hey again everyone! I am back after a months' Hiatus. If there are people still reading this, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR WAITING. While I am still extremely busy, the appointment thing is okay now... well, not really okay, more like... settled? Yeah. For now, anyway. So, I'm going to give writing this another shot. Oh, by the way, I have replaced the old Chapter 23 with a new, completely rewritten chapter, because the old one didn't make any sense. _PLEASE READ THE NEW CHAPTER 23 BEFORE YOU READ THIS ONE_.** Enjoy!****

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><p><strong>Chapter 24-<strong>

The group reached the hill that blocked them from the Gate's view. Since they had already been quite a distance away from the war, they managed to escape safely, with no-one any more injured then they already were from the tunnels. Falman had a bit of trouble running with his injured leg, but he still made it. However, once they arrived, they noticed two of them where missing.

"Where's Havoc and Winry?" Hawkeye asked hoarsely. Her throat was killing her from the earlier car 'crash'.

"Brother's gone too," Al pointed out worriedly. Well, the person calling himself Edward was missing. Al still wasn't sure whether an Edward without a soul could still be the older brother he knew and loved.

"There they are," Fuery pointed to them. Havoc had had to stop and put Winry down, as he'd been carrying her for the past couple of hours straight. Edward took the blank-eyed girl from Havoc so the officer could walk on his own, but Ed's eyes widened slightly as he touched her. Edward said something to Havoc, but the officers couldn't hear them from so far away. Havoc began to run towards the group much faster than before, no longer bearing the weight of another person. Ed simply vanished from sight and reappeared behind the hill using his unnatural speed.

"Hughes, have you seen the condition of this girl?" Edward asked him seriously. Hughes grinned mischievously.

"Aw, look at that. Edo's worried about his girlfriend! LET ME TAKE A PICTURE!" Hughes gushed. Edward scowled and began to speak, but Mustang cut him off.

"Enough!" he ordered seriously. "We need to brainstorm a way to get rid of that Gate!"

"Yeah, cause we're toast if we don't," Havoc said breathlessly. He collapsed on the ground, already exhausted from the day.

"Well, what do we already know about it?" Falman began, re-tying the makeshift bandage around his leg.

"It controls the use of alchemy, for one thing. The Gate can also store knowledge and it's controlled by the Truth," Al explained. A faint earthquake shook the ground they sat on as the Gate attacked the fleeing vampires and hunters.

"Hold on, didn't King Bradley-" Hawkeye began.

"Pride," Ed interrupted, putting Winry down. "He's one of the oldest homunculi." The officers were silent for a moment. They all knew something was wrong with the current Fuhrer when he appeared at the Homunculi's hideout that time Al had been kidnapped, but hearing that he was a powerful homunculus was still quite a blow.

"Didn't… Pride say that they were the masters of the Gate? If this 'Truth' thing controls the Gate, wouldn't it be the master of the Gate rather than the Homunculi?" Hawkeye finished.

"I was wondering about that…" Mustang muttered.

"Then how did the Homunculi gain control of the Gate?" Havoc's brows furrowed in concentration.

"Who cares?" Ed rolled his eyes, surprising the rest with his question. "That's all you need to know. Take out the correct Homunculi and you take out the Gate, easy as that." He stood and stretched.

"What do you mean?" asked Havoc.

"Think about it," Edward replied sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "If the Homunculi are the 'masters' of the Gate, then it has to be connected with one or more of them in order to manifest itself here. If the Homunculi that the Gate is connected to die, then it no longer has a foothold here in Amestris. It will disappear back to… wherever the hell it came from."

"I'd suggest you start with Pride," Hughes recommended. "The Gate has to be connected to at least one of the Homunculi that was there, right? Pride, being the sin that he is, would want that glory all to himself. He would refuse to share it with Sloth or Envy."

"Makes sense," Mustang nodded. "What about the other four Homunculi?"

"Greed, Gluttony, Lust and Wrath," Edward turned his back to the humans and Hughes. "I know them the most… along with Al, I guess. And Greed would definitely want to be connected to the Gate as well."

"How the heck are we going to find them?" Fuery groaned.

"Well, I already know where they are," Ed spoke. He remembered very clearly- after all, that's where his soul had been placed. Edward's eyes darkened as he recalled the choice he'd have to make- human or vampire. He still hadn't decided. Al opened his mouth to ask 'How?' but Hawkeye stopped him, noticing the older Elric's expression.

"Alright, then," Mustang stood and turned to his subordinates, along with Al and Hughes. "This is what we're going to do…"

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><p>"Sir, this is insane…" Falman murmured to the colonel half an hour later.<p>

"Exactly. That's why this plan is going to work," Mustang answered.

"Um, Colonel Mustang? Everyone is already so injured from the vampire tunnels. How can we win against the Homunculi?" Al asked softly. He looked troubled.

Mustang simply assumed Al was nervous about the upcoming fights. After all, he was no longer an invincible suit of armour. "Trust me, Alphonse. Everyone in this team is both incredibly strong and brave. We will do this- for the sake of everyone in Amestris."

The three reached the Gate, standing right in front of it. Crowds of hundreds of vampires and hunters were fleeing from the site, meaning that Mustang, Al and Falman were alone with Pride, Envy and Sloth.

"Pride!" Mustang called out boldly, striding forward.

"Colonel Mustang. Or, should I say, insignificant human," Pride smiled triumphantly.

Mustang glared up at him. "I've never seen such a coward like you in Amestris before." The colonel then smirked.

Envy burst out laughing. "Ooh, Pride! Insulted by a human! You gonna take that?" He sounded pleased.

"Silence!" roared Pride, furious. "I am no coward. I am Pride! And I have never lost a single fight!"

Mustang narrowed his eyes, pulling his transmutation gloves on. "Then you won't run from this challenge, will you?" Behind him, Falman sighed. His superior had just challenged the Fuhrer to a duel.

Pride laughed mockingly. "Why would I fight an insect like you when I could just vaporise you all without moving a finger?" He gestured to the Gate.

"Because," Mustang replied haughtily. "Do you really think your reputation would survive when everyone knows you ran scared from a fight with a human?"

Envy whistled at the insult, and Pride scowled. He jumped down from his platform on the Gate, landing perfectly on his feet. He drew his sword in a blur, his All-Seeing Eye uncovered and focused on the raven-haired officer in front of him.

"This 'fight' will take mere minutes." Pride declared arrogantly. Mustang braced himself as Pride prepared to attack.

"At last, some entertainment!" Envy hooted, leaning back lazily.

Al frowned. He didn't want Envy to intervene with Mustang's fight. Knowing Envy, he'd probably try to cheat in some way.

"Envy!" Alphonse called, distracting the sin. "We have some unfinished business!"

Envy grinned. "Hey, if it ain't little Al!"

"You caused everyone trouble," Alphonse shouted to be heard.

"Me?" Envy's grin turned into an expression far more sinister. "Why Al, you were the one who caused the trouble! After all, it wasn't me the pipsqueak and his friends were worried about."

Al stopped, stunned. He'd never thought about it in that way. Then… all of the panic about him being kidnapped… the whole rescue mission… the terror from discovering the Homunculi's army… _was his fault_. Al gulped, too shocked to respond.

"But you're right about one thing. We do have unfinished business." Envy's mocking smile turned deadly. "I forgot to kill you last time!" He lunged forward madly, aiming for Al's throat. The troubled teenager dodged the attack by sheer reflexes.

Falman pulled out his gun, watching the two fights happening and ready to back his team members if necessary. He also kept an eye on the beautiful woman Homunculi called Sloth, but she simply lazed around on the floating white platform. Falman narrowed his eyes- the 'too lazy to attack' routine was pretty common with Sloth, according to Ed and Al. He kept alert- after all, Mustang or Alphonse might need his help. The fights for the freedom of Amestris had begun.

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><p>Meanwhile, Edward, Hawkeye, Hughes and Havoc were standing in the shade in front of an 'abandoned' warehouse in Southern Central- a building far too familiar for Ed's liking. He thought he'd have more time to make his decision. He couldn't believe he felt so torn- his head told him to destroy that damn soul and become a full-blooded vampire. But his heart, against all logic and reason, wanted to take back the troublesome thing and be human again. Edward hadn't been so confused in all his life- or what he remembered of it, anyway. He was completely stuck.<p>

"So, this is where the Homunculi moved to after we found their last hideout." Hawkeye commented, eyeing the building and the surrounding industrial area. There was nothing even remotely suspicious about the warehouse.

"We should probably get going on the plan," said Havoc, lighting a smoke. The plan… which was entirely crazy and only a group of idiots would ever attempt it. Hopefully, that meant it would work.

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><p><em><span>Earlier…<span>_

"_This is what we're going to do," Mustang gazed at his subordinates and friends._

"_We'll split up into two teams. I'll head team 1. Lieutenant, you'll lead team 2. The first team will consist of Falman, Alphonse and myself." Mustang glanced at them before continuing. "The second team will have the Lieutenant, Havoc, Hughes and Edward."_

"_What about me, sir?" Fuery spoke up._

_Mustang turned to him. "You will have a very important job, Fuery. The Homunculi are lying, deceitful cheaters. They will try and exploit our every weakness- including our only unconscious team member." Mustang frowned slightly in thought. "I'm sure they'll try and use Winry against us. Your job is to ensure her safety. They'll probably send multitudes of soldiers after her. Can you protect her?"_

_Everyone turned to Fuery, who looked uncertain. "O-of course! I can protect her from the soldiers!"_

_Mustang nodded. "Good."_

_Alphonse shifted, concerned. "But what will we do, Colonel? In our teams?"_

_Mustang gave him a serious look. "We're going to take down the Homunculi- for the sake of everyone in Amestris."_

_Hawkeye exhaled slowly, thinking. "Team 1 will attack the three Homunculi at the Gate and eliminate them…"_

"_That's right," Mustang nodded. "I will personally fight Pride, as he seems the most likely to be one of the Homunculi connected to the Gate. Fullmetal, you'll take team 2 to the Homunculi's new hideout. Then, team 2 will eliminate Greed, Lust, Gluttony and Wrath one by one until every Homunculi connected to the Gate has been… accounted for. The Gate will then vanish and the Homunculi will be defeated."_

"_That plan's insane. Just waltz in to the territory of seven powerful Homunculi and kill them, despite injuries and all odds." Edward scoffed, and then slowly smirked. "I like it. What are we waiting for?"_


	26. Chapter 25

**A/N: Hey, everyone. Thank you for letting me know I still have support for this fic. ;) This chapter is completely filled with action! Unfortunately, it also swings back and forth between focusing on Mustang's fight and focusing on Al's fight. My apoligies for any confusion, but almost all of them start off with either 'Mustang' or 'Alphonse' so hopefully that will help. By the way, I am not the best at writing fight scenes... *coughhorriblecough* so please lower your expectations and read on! :D**

**To DieHard4Anime: I just thought I'd let you know that your private messaging is turned off, because sometimes people turn it off accidentally! So I can't thank you for your lovely reviews :) If you want to turn it back on, just log in and go to Account, then Settings :D**

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><p><strong>Chapter 25-<strong>

Edward, Hawkeye, Hughes and Havoc all silently entered the warehouse doors. They found themselves at a forked path, with one way leading up into the 'warehouse' area, and the other way leading down into the Homunculi's factory. Edward tensed as he felt a strange, yet familiar pull telling him to go down to the factory. Hawkeye noticed his tense stance.

"Don't worry, Fuery took Winry somewhere safe." Hawkeye whispered to him with a slight smile. Ed scowled at her teasing tone and waited for her to elaborate, but she instead turned to Hughes and Havoc.

"Alright. You two take that way and look for any Homunculi up in the warehouse area," Hawkeye told them softly, sounding nearly inaudible. "Edward, you come with me down to the factory. Remember, we don't know how many homunculi are connected to the Gate, or which ones they are. The lives of everyone in Amestris will only be safe when we eliminate _all_ the Homunculi linked with the Gate."

The team nodded. "Oh, and one more thing," Hawkeye continued, locking eyes with the other three. "Don't die."

Havoc saluted. "You're the boss," he whispered quietly. "Good luck." Hughes silently smiled and waved at Hawkeye and Edward as he followed Havoc up the left path and out of sight. The Lieutenant nodded to Edward and headed down the right hand tunnel, unknowingly leading the way to the place where Ed's soul was located.

Edward and Hawkeye had been cautiously walking silently for just a couple of minutes when Ed felt a sudden grip on his shoulders. He swiftly turned and managed to hit whoever had grabbed him before the unknown attacker pushed them both through a wall. The 'room' on the other side ended almost immediately in a cliff, where the bottom could not be seen. Edward and his attacker stumbled straight off the edge.

"Edward!" shouted Hawkeye, gazing down into the pit anxiously. She received no answer. She hurriedly started running down the path, hoping to find some way of getting to the bottom of the pit, but she was interrupted by a whiny voice.

"You're that lady I've seen before!" the voice said, a large figure leaning just in the shadows. A fat tongue came into view, with an ouroboros tattooed on the slimy surface.

"You know, I'm hungry. And Lust said I could eat you!"

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><p><em>Snap.<em> A blinding line of white-hot fire launched straight towards Pride, but he dodged the swift attack. Mustang snapped again, turning in a circle as Pride evaded every single attack. The Homunculus continually sought for a moment of weakness so he could strike, but the Colonel gave him no chance.

Unfortunately, that worked both ways. Mustang simply wasn't fast enough to land a hit on Pride, and Pride couldn't get through the wall of fire to strike Mustang. They circled one another, attacking and defending, until Mustang made a dreadful mistake. He stepped forward towards Pride, and his foot hit a patch of uneven gravel. Mustang fell backward and instinctively rolled to one side just as a razor-sharp sword embedded in the ground within millimetres of his face.

"Careless." Pride smirked smugly, but anger and frustration raged in his eyes. He detested prey too fast to kill instantly.

Pride pulled out his sword as he spoke and swung at Mustang. The Colonel thought quickly and kicked his foot out, attempting to knock the Homunculus off his feet. Pride jumped backwards to avoid the defensive attack, giving Mustang enough time to flick himself back onto his feet. The Colonel knew he was at a disadvantage here. He would eventually tire and slow down from exhaustion, but Pride could fight for the rest of eternity at the same level of strength and speed. He needed to end this quickly. He needed a plan.

Mustang avoided Pride's offensive attacks and sent a line of fire towards his opponent. Pride swiftly ducked down to dodge. He was just too fast! If he could somehow hold Pride in place for just a second, he'd have enough time to hit him! Mustang looked over Pride's head as he ducked to avoid the attack, and in that moment, Mustang could see the Gate hovering in the air behind Pride. _That's it!_ Realization dawned on Mustang as he thought up a hasty but reliable plan to defeat the oldest Homunculus.

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><p>Al was stunned, a disbelieving look in his eyes. This was his fault! His movements slowed as uncertainty clouded his eyes, and Envy managed to hit him. Al quickly flipped and landed on his feet some metres away. Well, that hurt… He ignored his stinging face and ran up to Envy, light and fast without being weighed down by a clumsy, heavy armoured body. Alphonse kicked Envy to the stomach, and Envy scowled as he grabbed Al's leg and twisted it. Al gritted his teeth as pain flooded through his right ankle and tried to punch his opponent. The Homunculi dodged, accidentally releasing his hold on Al in the process. Alphonse winced as he stood on his injured foot, and quickly glanced over to see how Mustang was doing. He was just in time to see the Colonel roll out of the way of Pride's deadly sword. Al frowned, hoping Mustang would be alright fighting Pride, and nearly got struck in the stomach by Envy.<p>

"Don't get distracted, kid!" Envy placed a hand on Al's head and struck him in the throat, leaving Al wheezing. "Your wonderful Colonel will get 'imself killed soon enough. If you're lucky, you'll still be alive to see him _die!_"

Al gasped for air as anger flooded through him. As if he'd let these monsters threaten any more of his friends! He lunged forward, taking the Homunculus by surprise and hitting him a couple of times before Envy could jump out of the way. Alphonse kept on the offensive, pushing Envy back one step at a time. The people of Amestris depended on him. He wouldn't lose. He couldn't afford to lose!

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><p>Pride sprang up, attempting to slice his rival's face, but Mustang swung around in time and elbowed Pride in the neck, sending him flying down to the ground. Mustang was now in between Pride and the Gate.<p>

"How _dare_ you!" Pride roared, his eyes turning to purple slits in anger. He refused to be lower than a mere disgusting human! Pride movements sped up from anger, but they were nowhere near as controlled and accurate as before. Mustang dodged Pride's sword with ease, stepping backwards each time until he was back in front of the Gate. Then, Mustang suddenly lashed out, clipping Pride on the side on the head. Pride nearly let him temper fly, but heard the tell-tale _snap_ of Mustang's flames and leapt to one side to avoid them. However, the flames never came anywhere near Pride.

Mustang smiled as he snapped and attacked- not Pride, but the Gate. The looming monstrosity was engulfed by flames, only to survive the attack without a single mark. Pride scoffed at the officer's utter stupidity- as if a lowly human could possibly threaten the Gate in any way. Then the Gate opened, and millions of tiny black hands shot out to take their revenge on the Colonel.

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><p>Alphonse kept Envy down on the ground with one knee and strips of alchemised earth, repeatedly hitting the disabled Homunculus in the head. Small flickers of red lightning lit up Envy's injured, half-healed face as he tried to repair himself, but Al never gave him the chance.<p>

"You gave Brother and me hell when we tried to get our bodies back!" Al yelled, unnaturally angry. "You caused trouble for everyone and you tried to murder everyone in the country!"

Envy opened his bleeding mouth to make a smart-ass reply when they both got distracted by the sound of the Gate opening. Al's eyes widened when he saw the Colonel standing there calmly, black hands shooting towards him.

Envy laughed maniacally. "Told you you'd be alive to see the Colonel die!"

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><p>Pride smirked as the hands shot towards Mustang. Stupid human. No-one in their right mind would attack the Gate, especially an alchemist! He relaxed as he watched the Colonel receive his punishment- death.<p>

Mustang took a deep breath… and then jumped above Pride at the last possible moment. He stepped on the stunned Homunculi's shoulder to gain speed and landed at a sliding halt on the other side. The hands, of course, tried to follow him and grab him. However, they missed the Colonel and accidentally latched onto Pride.

"_What?_ Get _off_ me, you foolish weapon!" Pride roared, attempting to thrash his way out of the hands. The Gate only hesitated for a mere second to release its 'master', but that second was enough.

Colonel Roy Mustang snapped, and the arrogant Homunculus burned.

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><p>Alphonse began to hit Envy even harder than before. The Homunculus couldn't keep up his healing with the repeated attacks and he died several times. He couldn't break his way free of Alphonse's furious attacks.<p>

"Pr… ide…!" Envy gasped, getting interrupted by the teenager's hits. "Hel… help me…"

Envy painfully searched for Pride until his eyes landed on the sight of Colonel Mustang snapping over and over. In front of him was a burning ball of fire surrounded by confused black hands. The ball of fire cried out in pain, and red lightning flashed repeatedly as it tried to heal Pride every time he burned to death at Mustang's hands. The young colonel looked like he was loosing control of his temper and was just angrily attacking without thinking.

Pride couldn't help him. Envy looked the other way and saw Sloth sitting on the floating platform, watching the two fights with a stony expression.

"Slo-th!" Envy choked on his own blood. " Damn… it… help me…!"

Falman tightened his grip on his weapon, expecting the female Homunculus to come to the aid of her dying colleagues, but she simply stat there.

"Sloth…!" Envy called again, desperately. Soon he'd die for real if Al kept this up!

Sloth gave the scene before her an emotionless look and slowly stood up. Falman swallowed and aimed his gun at her, as Envy felt hopeful he'd be rescued. But she just turned and left. Envy's jaw dropped, and Falman looked amazed as Sloth abandoned her fellow homunculi, vanishing into the distance with incredible speed. However, Falman was soon distracted from the escaping woman as he heard Alphonse yell out.

"Colonel! Colonel Mustang, stop!" Al shouted desperately. The Colonel was now even more furious than Al was before, his thoughts dwelling on the thought that Pride had tried to kill everyone in the country he ruled. Pride was going to kill his own people! Mustang's attacked had steadily gotten bigger, faster, and more destructive, until it had reached the point where Al and Envy where also being scorched by the flames.

"Mustang!" Al screamed, trying to be heard as fire licked at his right arm and injured ankle. He winced and jumped to one side, heading towards the inferno Mustang was madly causing. Falman was also trying to approach the furious officer from the other side.

"Sir, please stop! You'll hit me and Al if you go any further!" Falman shouted.

Alphonse staggered as out-of-control flames exploded to one side of him. "Colonel, you're going to incinerate everything and everyone for miles around! Stop! Colonel just… _**please stop!**_"

Mustang's enraged expression softened slightly as his friend's words reached his ears, and he gasped as his senses returned to him. The reality of what he was about to do struck the Colonel hard, and he immediately stopped snapping. The exploding inferno in front of him died down into nothing more than thick smoke, and Mustang collapsed on to his knees, exhausted. His injured head pounded like he was being hit with a truck every time he moved. Al and Falman instantly went to his side, Alphonse seeming concerned. Falman aimed his gun at the steadily clearing haze, ready to defend if Pride attacked. Mustang looked up just as the smoke cleared completely.

In front of the three was a blackened, melted sword and pile of ashes, which then blew away in the breeze. Pride was dead. The Gate had closed, and was still for the moment; however, when the officers looked at it carefully, they could see a number 1 burned into the Gate's door. The Gate looked a little hazy and insubstantial, which was understandable considering one of the objects to which it had linked itself with had just died.

Suddenly, Al's eyes went wide.

"Gah, I forgot about Envy!" Al swung around to the spot where he had held the Homunculus down with alchemy. However, all Alphonse could see were the scorched remains of the alchemised chains. Envy was gone.


	27. Chapter 26

**A/N: This is a very special chapter. Why, you may ask? Because in this chapter, Night Eyes hits 50,000 WORDS! Awh yeah! XD That was my goal when starting this fic- to go over 50,000 words. Mission Accomplished! Thanks to everyone who has lent their support to this fic and kept me motivated to reach this goal! I love you all ^_^ (in an entirely non-creepy way, of course). Let's have a quick competition! Whoever can guess the Homunculus Hughes is fighting first wins: bragging rights! (oh, and i'll dedicate next chapter to you) ;) Leave your answer in a review. Please enjoy this one!  
><strong>

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><p><strong>Chapter 26-<strong>

Havoc held his gun close, sliding along the wall until he reached the corner into one of the overly large rooms of the warehouse. Havoc looked around the corner just enough to check if there was anyone around. He tensed when he thought he heard something on the left-hand side of the room and swung around with expertise, aiming his gun at the figure and nearly pulling the trigger. Across from Havoc, Hughes waved, looking amused.

Havoc sighed and relaxed. "Can you please take this seriously, Hughes? And… wait a minute; you were behind me just a second ago!"

Hughes scoffed. "A second is more than enough time for me. Look, Havoc, I would be able to tell if there was someone here. There's no-one around-"

Just as the words left his mouth, Hughes suddenly went silent. He motioned to Havoc to stay quiet where he was and noiselessly left the room into a hallway. Havoc waited, assuming that Hughes had sensed the presence of someone else and was investigating.

After a while, Havoc grew more and more tense and restless. Hughes wasn't back yet. Could something have happened to him? Havoc left the shelter of the shadows and headed towards the door Hughes had left through when he heard a horrible crashing sound, and the screech of something sharp and metallic on stone. Hughes was fighting someone.

Havoc started running in order to aid his colleague when a dark-haired kid stepped in his path. Havoc blinked, wondering what a kid was doing in a place like this, when he noted the boy had a metal arm and leg. Violet eyes stared up at Havoc, a menacing tinge to them. The next thing Havoc knew, the kid had kicked him in the face, sending him flying back to hit a wall. Havoc coughed at the impact. The kid had an ouroboros tattooed on his foot- he had to be Wrath. Havoc couldn't believe that such a young kid could be a homunculus, but the boy's deadly nature and unbelievably fast attacks told the officer otherwise.

Havoc scowled. He didn't have time for this- Hughes could need his help. He ran towards the boy, shooting as he went, but Wrath just dodged, not even fazed when one of Havoc's bullets grazed his cheek. Wrath grabbed Havoc by the arms and threw him straight back into the same wall as before. Havoc wheezed as he got to his feet, under Wrath's intense gaze.

"I can't let you interfere with the vampire's fight," Wrath said simply, standing his ground between Havoc and the door.

Havoc stared at Wrath for a moment, and then sighed. "That's too bad. You see, my colleague might need a hand. So I have to get through." He narrowed his eyes at Wrath. "Using any way possible. I won't hold out because you're a kid, Homunculus."

Havoc shot three times, hitting Wrath once in the stomach and taking one of his lives. Red light flashed as Wrath healed. Wrath scowled, furious, and ran up to Havoc. Before the officer could react, Wrath smashed his hand into Havoc's stomach with such force that the Homunculus' hand came out of Havoc's lower back. Havoc choked as the blood began to flow, shocked at Wrath's sudden rage-filled attack. Wrath pulled away and watched as the officer slumped onto the ground, his fatal wound crying with crimson and turning the ground below him red. Wrath walked forwards and grabbed Havoc by the throat, choking him.

"Killing me was a bad move." Wrath hissed, annoyed. Havoc made a stomach-turning gargling noise, his eyes rolling back in his head as he began to go limp. His traumatized stomach sent all-consuming waves of pain through his being.

Havoc silently apologized to Lieutenant Hawkeye as he disobeyed her direct orders. He was going to die.

* * *

><p>Edward landed directly on his feet, and tried to gain his bearings. His unknown attacker had dropped the both of them down several stories. A <em>thud<em> behind him told the teenager that his attacker had just landed. Edward turned smoothly, annoyed beyond measure at the inconvenience.

"Greed?" Ed asked, raising an eyebrow. "Alphonse told me about you."

"Ha, good to know I'm so popular, kid!" Greed grinned cockily. After a moment he tilted his head to one side, his wide grin growing bigger with every second that passed.

Eventually, Edward couldn't stand not knowing. "What the hell are you fucking grinning so hard about?" He scowled.

"I'm waiting." Was Greed's only answer.

"Waiting for what?" Ed narrowed his eyes. Suddenly a section of the wall slid upwards to form a door, light flooding in to the darkened pit. Ed's eyes grew wide in shock as he felt the terrifying pull of his soul almost unbearably close. Greed had taken them to where Edward was most vulnerable. With his soul so close, Edward almost couldn't move, and he was tormented by conflicting feelings of cold emotion and warm humanity. The vampire couldn't think or move properly, and Greed intended to use that to his advantage. Edward couldn't fight if he was paralysed.

"That." Greed's eyes crinkled as an ecstatic grin crossed his face. "I've always wanted to beat you to a pulp, kid. I want to take your soul away and dissect it. I'll bet there's something about true immortality hidden in there. And I always get what I want!"

* * *

><p>"Hungry, Hungry, <em>Hungry, <em>_**Hungry, HUNGRY!**_" Gluttony chanted, attempting to bite Hawkeye on the arm. The Lieutenant dodged just in time and shot the Homunculus four times. Gluttony uncomfortably rubbed his head as he died all four times.

"Just go die already, you monster," Hawkeye muttered. She sported two light bite marks on her shoulder and arm, and a more serious bite wound on her side. None of it was enough to even slow her down.

"Gluttony wants meal," the whiny voice complained, sticking a finger in his mouth. Gluttony drooled as he imagined eating his delicious opponent.

Hawkeye frowned, and then smiled slightly as something occurred to her. "Tell me Gluttony, how many times have you died from my attacks today? Twenty times? Twenty-five? Thirty? Or even more than that?" She dodged Gluttony's clumsy attack with ease, shooting him in the back of the head. Gluttony wasn't particularly fast at the best of times, but now that he'd nearly used up all of the lives in his philosopher's stone, he was lagging as if his body was too heavy to move properly.

"But Gluttony's so _hungry_!" the fat homunculus lunged one last time at Hawkeye, disgusting mouth wide and teeth bared, ready to clamp down on the officer's skin and bones and crush them to dust. "Let me eat you!"

Hawkeye narrowed her eyes and shot three times. "Not a chance," she whispered seriously. Her fatal bullets whizzed straight towards Gluttony and into his mouth, going straight out through the other side of his head. Gluttony froze, centimetres away from killing Hawkeye.

His skin began to peel away and turn to dust, wafting away in a slight breeze from outside the factory and warehouse. His hands and feet broke down and floated away to nothing.

"I got to eat… before I died…" Gluttony smiled, shocking Hawkeye. "I got to eat… bullets… They were…"

His body broke down completely, leaving just his eyes and mouth.

"So tasty…" Gluttony spoke his last words, and the remnants of his head vanished completely. Hawkeye was left standing in the hallway, slightly wounded but completely alive, aiming at a monster that was now nonexistent. She lowered her gun and sneezed as the surrounding dust settled on her face.

Hawkeye had killed Gluttony, and she was fine. She briefly wondered how everyone else was faring. How many Homunculi had died so far?

* * *

><p>Ricky was seated on the ground with his head hung low from exhaustion. All around him were the bodies of those who had died on the battlefield. Every other living thing had fled from the place, leaving him alone in absolute silence. The two officers and Al had long since left the battlefield after defeating Pride. Ricky didn't know where they'd gone. He didn't know how long he'd been sitting there in the blinding afternoon light in total silence either, but he didn't care. After what seemed like an eternity had passed, he heard the noise of three gunshots. It took a moment for the noise to sink in, but eventually the young vampire raised his head to look at the Gate.<p>

The thing that had started it all was floating in the air, still visible but now completely intangible. Next to the scorched number one that adorned the doors of the Gate was the number 2. The number was formed by a series of bullet holes. Ricky realized that the second Homunculus connected to the Gate had just died.

"They're actually doing it," Ricky whispered out loud, his voice low and raspy. "They're really defeating the Homunculi." Ricky stared at the Gate a moment longer before hanging his head again and hugging the body closer to him.

"So your death wasn't in vain, Heath." Ricky closed his eyes, holding the still, wounded body of his friend, partner and mentor in silence.


	28. Chapter 27

**A/N: I apologize for the random wait for this chapter… really, really bad writer's block. I am still not entirely satisfied with it. :/ And Hughes is fighting Lust. The winner of the competition was ChibiUchiha723! This chapter is dedicated to you. ^_^ You may now brag about your brilliant detective skills to other people! :P**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 27-<strong>

"_**LUST!"**_ Hughes shouted, lunging for the female homunculus. Lust sent her deadly nails shooting towards Hughes, forcing him to stop his own attack and dodge. Hughes then immediately attempted to attack again.

Lust was puzzled by this. She had never directly impacted the vampire's life- so then why was he so vicious in his attacks? It was as if he had a personal vendetta against her or something. Lust, on the other hand, had just been ordered to kill the vampire, seeing as he would be one of their more powerful enemies. However, killing the experienced vampire was proving to be much more of a challenge than she'd originally thought.

"You seem particularly angry at me, Maes Hughes. Why don't you and me spend some alone time together? I'll ease your anger with a little… reward." Lust spoke in the most lustful and seducing tone she could muster. Her voice dripped with the offer of physical pleasure as she attempted to distract Hughes with her beauty.

Hughes swiped at her with claws nearly as sharp as her own nails. "Your tricks won't work on me," he scowled. "Why would I need a fake like you when I have my own beautiful wife at home?"

Suddenly Hughes paused and tensed, glancing briefly at the wall that separated him and Havoc.

"You can smell it, can't you?" Lust smiled sadistically. "Your friend bleeding to death at Wrath's hands."

Hughes' eyes narrowed, and he disappeared into the next room with incredible speed. Lust casually followed, examining her nails as she went.

"Havoc!" Hughes frowned, ignoring Wrath and crouching down beside the injured officer. Havoc's eyes were wide and unfocused; he was just barely alive, but Hughes didn't think Havoc would survive long enough for him to use his healing technique, let alone long enough to get to a hospital. Hughes then heard Havoc's heart abruptly stop beating. Havoc was dead.

Hughes scowled, trembling slightly in anger. His eyes flickered red for the briefest of moments, but quickly returned to their usual dark brown. He left Havoc's side, standing so he faced Wrath and Lust.

"You… are responsible!" He yelled in rage, and with those words lunged at the two homunculi. They split to either side so that Hughes was in the middle, meaning that he would have his back to one of them at all times. Hughes attempted to keep up with the constant attacks from both sides, but he was not always quick enough to avoid both Wrath and Lust. Slowly, the two homunculi began to injure him. If he wanted victory, he'd need a hand with this fight. Hughes was so mad, so concentrated on his fight with the two killer homunculi, that he never even sensed the twenty approaching humans.

However, the he certainly noticed the humans when they burst into the room with guns, knives and other weapons.

"H-homunculi! Open fire!" the leader shouted uncertainly. The Hunters lined up and pulled the triggers, narrowly missing Hughes. While they were primarily aiming for Wrath and Lust, none of the Hunters would be at all remorseful about shooting Hughes. He was a vampire, after all. The Hunters were his natural enemy.

Three of the humans split off to one side under the protection of their colleague's weapons, heading directly to where Havoc lay. They had first aid kits with them, and as Hughes watched out of the corner of his eye as he dodged both the Homunculi and the Hunters, they hooked Havoc up to some sort of portable breathing machine and started CPR.

Hughes unintentionally held his breath as the humans attempted to resuscitate the military officer, but the sound of Lust yelling soon dragged his attention back to the fight he was currently in the middle of.

"Meddlesome pests!" Lust hissed, annoyed. "Soon you will all be slaves to us. We, the supernatural ones, will rule Amestris!"

Lust sent her nails out, splitting two of the Hunter's guns in half and stabbing one Hunter in the shoulder. The man instantly collapsed. This apparently angered one of his colleagues, as one sharp shooter managed to land a bullet in Lust's forehead, taking one of her lives. She healed in front of their stunned eyes.

"None of you have ever fought a homunculus before, have you?" Lust slowly smirked.

"Amateurs like yourselves will never stand a chance against superior beings like ourselves. Especially when we have the power of the Truth at our command!"

* * *

><p>"There it is!" Alphonse shouted as he, Mustang and Falman arrived at the Homunculus' disguised hideout. "Brother did say it was this one, right?"<p>

"It has to be," Mustang replied calmly, still regaining his composure after his fight with Pride. "I can hear gunfire inside."

The three entered, finding themselves at the same forked path Hawkeye and the others had faced not an hour ago. Off to their left an array of gunfire from multiple weapons could be heard; however, Mustang could hear the faint sound of a single gun off to his right if he concentrated. He knew the sound of that gun.

"The Lieutenant's down the right hand tunnel." Mustang commented, staring down the dim path until the darkness covered his view.

"But something's definitely happening up the left hand one…" Al frowned. What if one of his dear friends was lying dead on the ground at that very moment?

"Sir, I'll take the right hand tunnel if you and Alphonse want to search the left hand one for the Lieutenant. I'll bet that Edward's with her." Falman spoke.

Mustang pondered the idea for a moment. "Alright; that sounds reasonable. Remember that our goal is to eliminate every homunculus connected to the Gate."

"Yes sir," Falman saluted, and he headed up towards the fight with the hunters, Hughes, and Lust and Wrath. Mustang turned and strode down the right hand tunnel with Al following closely.

The two travelled in silence for a few minutes until they passed a large hole in the wall, which dropped down into pure darkness. It was impossible to tell how much distance a fall would be. Straight after that, the two walked straight into a portion of the tunnel that was completely covered in dust.

"What the…?" Mustang muttered, and he sneezed.

"Colonel!" Al yelled worriedly, and he pointed to some splatters of blood on the ground. They were from Hawkeye's fight with Gluttony.

Mustang frowned. "Let's keep going." Al nodded and the two increased their pace, nearly running down the tunnel. Unfortunately, when they turned a corner fifteen minutes later, they were going too fast to stop quickly and they smashed straight into Lieutenant Hawkeye.

She coughed, holding her arm lightly. "While it's good to see you, Colonel…" she narrowed her eyes dangerously. "Get _off _me!"

* * *

><p>Edward tried to breathe. To move. To think. Anything would help, but nothing came to him. He was paralysed by the close vicinity of his soul, and indecision held him to the spot. At this rate, he'd never be able to move unless he made up his mind.<p>

Greed casually strode over to where Ed lay painfully on the floor and kicked him a couple of times, just for the fun of it. Edward coughed up blood, the injuries from Greed's beating accumulating and making each strike more painful than the last. Greed picked Ed up by the throat and smashed his head into a wall, laughing. Ed slid down to the ground, his vision spinning.

Vampires were built to handle pain. _He_ was built to handle pain. But Ed knew that if something didn't change soon, Greed would kill him.


	29. Chapter 28

**A/N: A week after I posted the last chapter, I heard my grandfather had died. We had to travel interstate for his funeral and, well, I didn't exactly feel like writing after that. That was probably a couple of months ago. I had this half written when I heard. I am sorry; I know this was probably the worst place to stop- pretty much at the end of the story.  
>To those people who've PM'd me about a sequel… I won't be writing one. When I first started, I was planning one, and I even left space for it (such as lack of information about Hughes, his anger with lust, and stuff about the Clan) but I think I should end it with Night Eyes. I don't know when the next chapter will be up, so enjoy.<strong>

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><p><strong>Chapter 28-<strong>

Hawkeye rushed down the path with Mustang and Al behind her.

"We have to find Edward. He was ambushed by one of the homunculi and I lost him down a cliff when I was fighting Gluttony," Hawkeye said, her eyes tinged with concern.

"I know Brother knows how to handle opponents just fine, but I still want to be there to help," Al stumbled a little on the downward path before regaining his footing.

"The old Edward knew. This new Fullmetal seems to get injured a lot when he fights," Mustang commented. Hawkeye frowned and increased her pace.

The trio reached the end of the descending path and looked around. They were now quite a distance underground. Off to their left were some steel automated doors that appeared not to have been used in quite a while. Mustang decided to leave those and gazed around to his right. Locked rooms lined the walls, and in the centre of the clearing was a huge dome-like structure made of sheer rock with a hole in the top. Al was about to ask the colonel which way they should go when the three heard a noise. It sounded like someone beating a punching bag.

Then came a sound that made the three of them shiver; the sheer screech of steel on stone. Mustang's eyes widened and he set off in the direction of the dome, where the sound had come from.

"Fullmetal?" he shouted, pulling on his other glove. His eyes smouldered with anger as he snapped with both hands, sending a condensed ball of fire hurling into the rock. The sheer heat of the attack managed to slightly disintegrate some smaller stones, which then fell through the remaining gap; and bigger rocks followed. Soon an entire section of the dome had collapsed, and the rocks on the edges of the gaping hole were so hot they were white in colour.

A pained shout originated from within, and Hawkeye's sharp sight caught Greed's silhouette stumbling from the wall, his back terribly burnt. He vanished deeper into the dome, shadows falling over him.

"_Brother_!" Al cried, overtaking Mustang and scrambling over the unstable rubble from the improvised entrance. Mustang increased his pace.

Edward was lying face down on the ground, unmoving. The hole in the dome provided some shadowy light, which was just enough to estimate to damage of his condition. He was splattered in crimson, blood pouring from wounds that were far too many to count. His limbs lay at unnatural angles. As Mustang approached, Alphonse turned his older brother over and pulled the unconscious boy onto his lap, clinging to him tightly.

"Heal… heal… come on brother, heal!" Al trembled. There came no response, but all three humans had somehow known that already. Hawkeye, who had her gun out watching for Greed, put her hand over her mouth in shock. Her aim never wavered from the dome, but her shoulders shook all the same as the force of the circumstances hit her. Alphonse, the sweet, kind, unfailingly joyful boy they all knew, began to cry. Mustang realized he'd fallen to his knees, his shocked body no longer bearing his weight. This couldn't be happening! After all they'd gone through, all they'd done… But Edward never moved. Mustang dropped his head, staring unfocused at the ground. He had never really given much thought to the possibility of Edward dying… it had never seemed like a feasible outcome, something that would never happen. Mustang just sat there for a moment. He didn't even know how vampires could be killed.

The Colonel paused, thinking over that. Killed. Fullmetal hadn't just died… someone _killed_ him. He began to shake. Hawkeye put her hand comfortingly on his shoulder, thinking he was mourning. But Mustang was not crying. His shoulders trembled in an incontrollable rage, his fiery wrath all rushing back to him from his fight with Pride. All his wounds and weariness seemed to disappear.

"GREED!" he suddenly yelled, bursting into a standing position. Hawkeye stepped back, eyeing him. Something was wrong.

Mustang snapped his fingers, sending his arm in a circle over his head. But his flames did not fade like usual. The blaze followed him in a trail, and before Hawkeye's very eyes, the Colonel formed a whip of living fire. He sent it hurtling around the circular edge of the giant dome, lighting up the place with unexpected clarity. Greed, who crouched off to his right, stood as well. His back had healed.

"Well now, if it isn't the Flame and his-" Greed was cut off as a whip of flame sent him hurtling along the rock wall, the rough surface grating his arm. He coughed as smoke filled his lungs, and managed to half stand up before the flaming whip slashed across his torso and wrapped around him. Greed actually screamed as he began to writhe, burning into nothing.

Mustang slowly walked forwards, his grip tightening as his eyes narrowed. This monster had killed his youngest subordinate. Despite appearing to hate each other, Mustang secretly respected Fullmetal's sheer determination, honesty and guts. He promised himself that he would give the boy every chance he could to fulfil his goals. But Greed had murdered him. The homunculus screeched, trying to heal, but to no avail.

"Wait, I know what you think-" Greed writhed in his prison of flame. "But the brat ain't dead! I didn't kill him!"

Mustang scowled, his dark eyes flashing. "You monster… How can you speak such lies when he is clearly-!" Mustang choked, unable to finish his sentence.

"He's just paralysed cause his soul's round here somewhere," Greed spluttered. Mustang paused, and Greed continued. "You know about that, right? Well, I know where it is. If you kill me, you won't be able to find it!"

Mustang scowled. Fullmetal certainly looked dead, but if there was even any chance he was alive… "And why would you tell us this when you went to such trouble to find it?"

Greed blanched as the fire died down slightly. "Because I want it all!" he suddenly threw back his head and laughed, smoke pouring out of his mouth. "I want all the life I can get- all the money, all the women, all the fame, everything! I can't get that if ya keep killing me!"

Mustang cast Hawkeye a wary look and she nodded to indicate she though he was telling the truth. Roy made up his mind quickly, and the fire surrounding Greed melted into nothing. Greed opened his mouth to make a smartass comment, and Hawkeye shoved her gun in his mouth. If she fired, it would not be pleasant at all.

"I wouldn't if I were you," she whispered, forcing him to his feet. Greed scowled, hating the humans right now- but Mustang got pretty powerful when he was angered. He'd already killed other homunculi already- Greed knew that for a fact. So he started walking towards the large metal doors Mustang had noticed earlier. Hawkeye followed threateningly.

Mustang went to Alphonse, who had inevitably heard the conversation. The two gazed at each other for a moment before Mustang offered Al a hand up. The younger boy took it, realizing it was a gesture of support. He dried his eyes and nodded at the Colonel, who leant down and carefully picked Fullmetal up. He didn't want anything happening to Fullmetal while they were gone, and he couldn't very well drag the vampire along.

Alphonse regained his composure as he and Mustang went through the metal doors, following Hawkeye with Greed at gunpoint. Al hardly dared to hope that not only would his brother live, but would get his soul back and be the older brother he'd always been. The trio had no idea how close they really were to Al's goal.


	30. Chapter 29

**A/N: I've just finished a whole set of exams, assignments, travelling and other appointments, so for a while I should have some extra time. I would like to finish off Night Eyes soon, before my next set of exams. And everyone was just so supportive... thank you, all of you. I know it's supposed to be 'just over the internet' or whatever, but I don't care about that; your support really means a lot to me!**

**To Undertaker 499: I know you don't have an account, but I simply had to reply to your review. You're spot on; and I just wanted to thank you especially for that message. I can tell you're talking from experience, and whatever it was that happened to you, I am incredibly sorry. Please continue to feel better!**

**Anyway, here's the next chapter. There's only a couple more left!**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 29-<strong>

Hughes watched from the shadows of the doorway as the Hunters tied down a screaming Wrath. The Hunters had won; Hughes had seen it all. They'd thrown silver canisters at the Homunculi, which released some purple-ish smoke on impact. The Homunculi had nearly collapsed under its effects, which apparently sapped at their strength. Hughes didn't know what was in that gas, but he was steering clear of it. However, instead of killing Wrath and Lust for good, the Hunters appeared to be capturing them. Hughes didn't care why. Wrath writhed and struggled, kicking and biting as many of his enemies as he could, but the Hunters were unfazed. Hughes saw the glint of a needle as the Hunters injected the Homunculus. Within seconds, the boy was unconscious.

Lust was proving to be harder to capture. Every needle that approached her was smashed to bits by her extended nails, usually along with the person's hand. It seemed despite the smoke's effects, she was still able to use her deadly nails. The Hunters threw more gas on her, and she eventually succumbed.

Hughes turned away from the scene and noticed someone approaching from the entrance. He slid into the shadows, suddenly noticing night had fallen. It had been a long day, but with the night Hughes felt an accompanying sense of energy and clarity.

The footsteps echoed as the person turned into view, and Hughes relaxed. It was just Fuery. He carried Winry on his back, but she was still limp and unresponsive.

"Fuery," Hughes spoke, and watched amusedly as the young officer jumped a mile.

"L-lieutenant H-hughes!" Fuery gulped. He seemed incredibly tired. "What's happened?"

"Go see for yourself," Hughes replied with a secretive smile. "I'll take her, if you want."

"Really? Thanks." Fuery transferred Winry from his back to Hughes' arms. Her open eyes stared blankly at nothing.

"Oh, by the way…" Hughes said over his shoulder as Fuery turned to go towards the Hunters. "Why did you come? Didn't Roy tell you to stay put and protect her?" He indicated to Winry.

"Yes, but… she moved," Fuery replied, adjusting his glasses. "She hadn't made a single move since the Elders did… whatever it was… to her. But all of a sudden, she jerked towards this building. Nearly gave me a heart attack." He frowned. "She hasn't moved again since, but I thought I should see what was going on."

"I see," Hughes replied thoughtfully. That piece of information was certainly intriguing. The older vampire turned and vanished down the hallway, apparently heading down the other hallway into the tunnels. Fuery shrugged and continued up to the room.

"What the…? Havoc!" he gasped, rushing towards his colleague. The Hunters, seeing he was human, warily let him pass.

"Do you know this man?" the woman leaning over Havoc asked. She was adjusting a breathing mask on Havoc's face, and Fuery realized she was a Healer.

"Yes, he's a colleague of mine. Is he…?" Fuery bit his lip.

"He died." The healer stated, and Fuery's heart sank. "But we managed to revive him."

Fuery slowly smiled. "Then… he's alive? Will he be alright? That stomach wound looks pretty bad." Fuery went back to looking concerned.

"He's alive and stable at the moment. But we'll have to move him to a hospital eventually, and that will probably cause his condition to worsen and become unstable again. Plus, the scale of this wound…" the woman sighed. "He still may not live through tonight. Whether he lives or not is basically up to him."

Fuery sighed, and the Healer glanced up from her work momentarily. "If you want, you can stay and help. I'm sure the extra assistance could increase his chances."

"Of course," Fuery said immediately. Havoc had been a friend of his for a while, and Fuery simply couldn't imagine life at the office without him. Havoc was integral to Mustang's team.

"Well then," the Healer said, "You can start by managing this breathing mask."

* * *

><p>Greed smiled creepily as he stood outside an odd-looking steel room. "Here ya go!"<p>

Mustang and Hawkeye exchanged glances. There was something off about Greed's cheerful behaviour, considering he was at gunpoint.

"Watch him, Lieutenant. If he tries anything, you are authorized to kill him. Repeatedly." Mustang murmured in Hawkeye's ear. She nodded as Al wearily forced open the door, which appeared to have been broken recently.

Alphonse entered first, with Mustang following him, carrying Edward. Mustang's arms were drenched in the vampire's blood, and the Colonel could see no indication that Fullmetal was alive; but if Greed was actually telling the truth, the vampire would just be paralysed- meaning he could be saved. And Mustang was willing to try.

Alphonse gasped as he stepped into the circular room. It was filled to the brim with piles of… stuff. Some things that were piled around the edges seemed like junk; but Al could see valuable things like sapphires, jewellery, coins and weapons also scattered in the piles. But in the centre of the round room were the most valuable things of all. They sat on tables; all sorts of odd things that were clearly valuable, but Alphonse had no idea what they were or did. However, his eye was drawn to one particular thing sitting on a nearby table.

It was… mist. Golden mist, which lay on the table in the shape of a person- but remarkably never lost its shape. As Al walked closer, as if he was drawn forward in a trance, Al could see the mist-person's features. It was a young boy, with his eyes closed and hair spread out around him. Alphonse gasped as the truth hit him.

Mustang walked forwards also, watching as Al gasped in shock. He glanced down at the ethereal boy lying on the table. He seemed… familiar, somehow, but Mustang couldn't quite put his finger on where he'd seen the young boy's features before.

"Colonel… this is…." Al hesitated. "Brother's… his…"

Mustang did a double take, his gaze switching rapidly between the mystical golden boy and Fullmetal's face. Despite the mist-boy being considerably younger and more at peace, the similarity was unmistakeable. This… was Edward's soul.

The two stood there for a moment disbelievingly.

"We found it!" Al suddenly cried joyfully. He leapt forward as if he intended to snatch his brother's soul right off the table and throwing recklessly over the unconscious boy. Mustang's hand shot out to hold Alphonse back, but in the process Fullmetal slipped from his grip. Roy's eyes widened as Fullmetal fell limply, half on the table. Alphonse and Mustang gaped as Edward began to _glow_.

The faint golden colour surrounded the vampire, and suddenly Ed's eyes shot open. He jerked wildly, pushing himself up off the table, and froze as dread crept down his spine. Edward slowly looked down… at his soul. His time had run out. He had to make his decision now.

"Brother!" Al's face lit up in excitement, but Edward couldn't move to look at him.

"And now," Mustang began, "We'll have to figure out how to give this back to you, but… then you'll be fine." The Colonel kept his tone completely professional and impartial. There was no way on Earth he was going to reveal to Fullmetal that he'd been worried out of his mind and totally distraught at Edward's 'death'.

Edward ignored them both.

"My choice…" he choked on the words, staring unblinkingly at his soul. "To be a vampire, or human… I… I choose…"

The two humans held their breath as time itself seemed to stop.

"I choose to be a vampire." Ed whispered.


	31. Chapter 30

**A/N: I think I'm on a roll. I've updated 3 times in 3 days, and Chapter 31 is already written, so I'll be posting that tomorrow night. Also, I've upped the rating to T, thanks to a reviewer reminding me that the rating was still K+. Thank you all again for the huge rush of support I've recieved on this!**

**Just two more chapters to go after this one. Enjoy, this is the chapter you've all been waiting for!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 30-<strong>

The glow surrounding Edward flashed and changed to a menacing dark red. As it did so, he was released from the sheer dread holding him motionless. Edward's eyes narrowed and he grabbed the object nearest to him. It happened to be an ancient spear, which was in marvellous condition for its age. He had to destroy his soul. Edward held up the deadly spear and swung it down, intending to slice the golden mist in half. His weapon never even reached the table.

Mustang had stepped in front of Edward and grabbed the head of the spear with his bare hands. Blood trickled down his wrist from the cut on his palms.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Mustang yelled, shoving the blonde back. "Choosing to be a vampire? Destroying your own soul to do so?"

Edward's eyes flashed with an emotion Mustang couldn't place. "It is my choice, and that is my decision."

"You're just scared of change!" Mustang shouted back. "You can't remember being human, and you're afraid that your life will go even more downhill than it already has!"

Edward scowled and swung at the officer. "Don't make stupid assumptions, bastard! Vampires are much stronger than humans; nearly invincible, in fact. And we have the support of the whole clan! Why would I throw that away?"

Alphonse, who was standing motionless to the side from shock, noticed Edward was acting differently than usual. He seemed more like his old self. He'd even called the Colonel a bastard like before!

Mustang was so frustrated with the boy's stupidity that he actually took a swing at Edward. "But you don't have the support of the Clan. We've heard it all from Hughes, Heath and Ricky- they hate you down there, don't they?"

"That will change once that damned thing is destroyed like it should have been!" Edward glared at his soul, which Mustang stood protectively in front of. "Then I will be accepted into the Clan."

Mustang paused. "So that's the reason for your choice. You want acceptance."

Edward scowled at him. "It's not that simple, dumbass!"

"Of course not!" Mustang was about to hit his head against the wall at Edward's stubborn idiocy. "Don't you understand? They won't accept you, Fullmetal. Even with no soul, you'll still be an outsider." Mustang's tone softened slightly.

Edward stopped, frustration evident on his face. "I…" The Colonel lowered his injured hands from his fighting stance, relaxing. Instead, he pointed across the room to where Alphonse stood. Edward stared at the younger boy momentarily.

"This young man has already accepted you, Full… Edward. As have I. And the same goes for the Lieutenant, Havoc, Falman, Fuery, Winry Rockbell, Maria Ross, Denny Brosh, Armstrong, Sheska, Gracia and countless others." Mustang stared Edward straight in the eye. "If you did this, every one of these people would be terribly affected. They would miss you and grieve for you, even. Because the determined, passionate, humane young man they had come to know and love would be dead. And a cold, heartless vampire could never fill his place."

Edward gazed at Alphonse as his certainty that this was the right choice wavered. "But…"

Mustang frowned. "But what?"

"If I don't destroy… that, then the Clan will kill you. All of you." Edward suddenly looked away, glaring at an innocent wall. "Not that I care about annoying, pestering humans like you!"

Al felt a feeling of warmth surround him at the words. "Brother…"

Mustang stepped forward, manoeuvring so he looked Edward straight in the eye. "You can't live according to someone else's actions, Edward. We can look after ourselves. After all, it's been several long weeks since I first ran into you that night at the alley. Since then, we've faced vicious Homunculi, a mindless zombie army, a Clan of murderous vampires, resolute Hunters, trap tunnels, car accidents, and much more. And we're still here." With every word he spoke, the menacing red glare surrounding Edward faded, and the blonde no longer tried to attack his soul. Mustang slowly reached out and placed his hand on Edward's shoulder.

Edward slapped his hand away. "Don't touch me, bastard." He passed Mustang, shoving him back as he went. The Colonel watched as Edward threw the ancient spear away carelessly and walked up to his soul again, slamming both hands down on the table. He scrutinized the golden mist for a long time. There was a lengthy moment of silence.

"I… I can't!" Edward shook his head violently, looking away. "I can't become _human_ again, not after all this…"

Al stepped forward as if to place a hand on his brother's shoulder, but he stopped. "Yes you can, Brother. It will be different from the life you're living now, the only one you remember… but you enjoyed being human. Despite all of the troubles and pain, and our quest… you were happy." Al finally leaned against Edward, squeezing his eyes shut. "Please…"

Mustang didn't know exactly what made Edward finally decide. It might have been his own lecture which influenced the blonde. It could have Alphonse's words, or his comforting touch. It could have been the fact that Edward acted and thought like his old self when he was close to his soul. It may have been a combination of the all three things, or even something else entirely. But whatever the reason, Edward hesitantly reached out to his soul and shakily brushed the golden mist with his fingers.

The room exploded in light, wind and sound. Al was blown away forcefully, knocked off his feet by the sudden blast. Mustang skidded back a few steps, his jet-black hair blowing around wildly. He unsuccessfully shaded his eyes and squinted through the onslaught of light.

Edward stood in the middle of it all. The golden mist of his soul had floated up in a sudden movement and now poured into Edward like grains of golden sand falling through someone's fingers. The soul spread through the blonde, from the top of his forehead down to the tips of his fingers and toes. And throughout it all, Edward screamed. Al covered his ears, unable to stand the sound of his brother in complete pain. Mustang tried to reach his subordinate, but the whirlwind originating from Edward pushed him back.

Edward had lived for months without his soul. And now, with the golden substance filling every part of him, the teenager could feel himself being… _cleansed_. As cheesy as it felt, the pain was unbearable- worse than having his automail reattached, worse than being disintegrated by the gate. Edward's eyes flew open. He remembered. He could remember everything.

Then the banshee-like screaming stopped. The light withdrew and the whirlwind slowed and eventually halted. Edward stared at the ground in the centre of the room, trying his best to stay awake; but his body, his _human_ body, couldn't take all the sudden change and stress. His eyes slid shut, and Edward collapsed.

"Brother!" Al gasped, and reached over to his older brother from his spot on the floor. Then, everything began to vibrate.

Hawkeye burst into the room, dragging Greed by his collar. "What's happening?"

Suddenly Hughes walked in behind her, Winry unconscious in his arms. "Geez Roy, what did you do now?"

Mustang tried to speak, but the vibrating accumulated into violent shaking. The edges of the room, which was already in a complete mess because of the unexpected whirlwind earlier, started to fade to white.

"What is this?" Al whispered, leaning beside Ed protectively.

"The Gate has been opened," said a calm voice from the doorway. Hawkeye, Mustang, Alphonse, Hughes and Greed all looked around to see a short elderly woman with greying chestnut hair standing by the doorway, her hands folded in front of her.

"Who the heck are you?" Greed looked puzzled.

Hughes' eyes widened, and he stared at the mysterious woman. "It's you…"

The lady bowed her head. "The Gate calls for the seven of you. I will be waiting when you return." As she spoke, a distant clock chimed once.

Her words were muffled, and the five conscious people could no longer see her as the world faded to white.


	32. Chapter 31

**A/N: I have wanted to write this chapter and chapter 30 ever since I started :) There's just one more chapter to go, the Epilogue.  
>By the way, I have just opened an account at Fiction Press (thats where you post your own stories, not fanfiction). If anyone's interested in checking it out, my pen name is Trina Sapphire and I should have Chapter 1 of my own story posted there on the 227/12.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 31:<strong>

Mustang, Hawkeye, Alphonse, Hughes and Greed found themselves suddenly in a world of complete white. Edward and Winry lay still unconscious on the floor.

Alphonse paled, staring at something over Mustang's shoulder. "The Gate…"

Mustang whirled around to find himself face to face with the enormous grey gates that he had seen earlier at the battlefield with Pride.

"You lot have caused quite the disruption today," said a male voice from one side. It came from a shadowy silhouette in the shape of a person.

Hawkeye took her gun off Greed and re-aimed it at the 'person'. "Tell us who you are!"

The 'person' sounded amused as he answered. "I am known by many names. I am called the world, the universe, god, truth, all, one."

"What do you want with us?" Mustang tried to demand, but Greed suddenly strode forward, cutting him off.

"Truth! What are you doing?" Greed raised his eyebrows.

"You have failed me," replied Truth. "You Homunculi were given the strength and ultimate power of the Gate. You were even given a roomful of objects from inside the Gate to assist you- some of which are of immense value." Truth glanced momentarily at Edward. "In return you were to channel thousands of souls to me through the Gate. But you have failed."

"Your group has fallen apart. Two of your members have died. A further two have been captured, and are unable to so much as glare at people, let alone kill them. One has been incapitated and another has disappeared from this agreement. Which leaves just you, Greed."

Greed scowled. "But I am still here. I will use the power I've obtained by our agreement. I will kill the humans and the vampires and rule the earth! Any remaining humans will bow down to my power! I will be king of the world, and have unlimited power, women, alcohol, money, immortality, anything I want! I will have it all!" He ended laughing maniacally.

Truth suddenly grinned chillingly. "You are incapable. Whilst you are the last Homunculus linked to the Gate, you do not have the ability to control this power. And do you know what I do to those that fail me?"

Behind Greed, the Gates swiftly swung open. Greed paled as millions of small black hands shot out and latched on to him.

"No! You can't do this! I am immortal! I cannot fail!" Greed screamed desperately. He began to fight off the black hands, but for every one he avoided, another one took its place and latched on. Greed writhed wildly, but to no avail. The Gate drew him into the darkness and the doors slammed shut. Silence reigned temporarily.

"Well, that was fun." Truth chuckled viciously before turning to the remaining people. Before Truth could say anything more, Alphonse leapt to his feet, standing in between Truth and Edward.

"Don't you dare touch Brother again!" Al said, determination shining in his eyes. "No more 'deals', nothing at all! We don't want anything to do with you!"

"Then," Truth stared creepily at him. "Why did you come, Alphonse Elric?"

Mustang intervened. "You called us, Truth." His tone was cold.

Truth looked over at him and Hawkeye. "That's right… To be more specific, I called _you_ two." He smirked. "You two have something to receive."

Hawkeye didn't like the fake enthusiasm Truth was using. "We don't want it."

Truth leant forward. "You don't even know what it is yet!"

Mustang shook his head. "We don't care." He knew full well not to deal with Truth from Edward's accounts. This monster took Fullmetal's arm and leg, and Al's entire body. "We refuse to deal with you."

Truth seemed angry at that. "You _refuse_?" He scowled at first, and then slowly dissolved into laughter. "You will regret that decision dearly." Truth grinned evilly.  
>"Remember this, mortals! Remember your refusal when your doom crashes down upon you and everything and everyone you care about abandons you!" Truth laughed uncontrollably as chills crept down the spines of everyone present. The sound faded slightly and the whiteness dimmed, and Mustang, Hawkeye, Alphonse and Hughes suddenly found themselves back in the Gate room in the Homunculi's lair.<p>

Hawkeye and Mustang exchanged glances, each wondering if they had just made a terrible mistake. Alphonse knelt down beside his older brother and watched for a second as he breathed- a sign of Edward's humanity.

"I see you have returned," said the old woman from before, her sharp gaze travelling over them all.

"Advisor Sylla," Hughes bowed his head to her.

"Vampire," she bowed in return, but a look of disgust crept on her face.

Mustang leaned over to Hughes. "Who is she?"

"The Head Advisor of the Hunters," he replied softly. "And an acquaintance of mine. I heard Envy tried to imitate her at one stage."

"What are you doing here, Advisor?" Hawkeye asked warily.

The Advisor strode right past her and stopped beside Al, leaning over Edward. "I am simply supervising this young man's… transition."

Al suddenly noticed something about his brother that made him uneasy. "His eyes…" Al hesitated.

Sylla nodded. "Once a human body has turned into a vampire, it can never completely go back to its original state."

Al's eyes went wide. "Does this mean Brother can never really be completely human?" The boy panicked.

"Not at all," the Advisor replied. "Your brother is completely human. He will just have some physical changes. Look here." She knelt beside Al, and Hawkeye, Mustang and Hughes watched on curiously.

Sylla opened one of Edward's eyes. The teenager's pupil was very slightly slitted, a bit like a cat's. When Sylla tilted Edward's head and his eye caught the light, his golden eye was tinted with a light red. The changes were almost unnoticeable, but they were there.

"He has Night Eyes," the elderly woman said, straightening and standing back up. "Eyes that have seen the night will never truly be the same again."

"Will it affect him?" Al asked anxiously.

"I've only heard of it in Hunter mythology- I've never heard of a real case, but the legends say he will be able to see further than most humans, and also in the dark. The legends speak of other potential changes too, such as a hatred of light, incredible endurance, or powers of the mind. Be prepared in case this young man acquires these abilities. However, it is also possible that he will not change at all, apart from his eyes. Hope for the best."

Sylla turned to go.

"Wait, Advisor!" Mustang stepped forward. "What about what happened just then, with the Gate?"

Sylla turned to Mustang. "First, let me ask you a question, Colonel Roy Mustang. What time was it when you saw that boy for the first time after he was changed?"

Roy thought for a moment, thinking back to that night patrol with Al. "About 1 am, I think."

"And the second time you saw him?" Sylla continued mysteriously.

Roy thought hard, recalling dropping in to his office on patrol to get some folders only to discover Fullmetal sitting injured on his desk. "1 am…"

"What about when you discovered he had no soul?" the Advisor smiled gruffly as Mustang connected the dots.

"The same time!" Mustang's brows furrowed as he began to remember every time he'd seen Edward at night. "It was always 1 am! How did I not notice that before…?"

"And, what time is it now?" Sylla smiled even more.

Mustang recalled the clock chiming once right before the Gate took them… somewhere. He checked his watch.

"Wow. But what does it mean?" the Colonel wondered.

"We have observed as much of the Gate's activity as we can find," Sylla explained, "and the Gate almost always opens at 1 am. It seems the wall between our world and the Gate is weakest then. With this being the Gate Room and all, it is most likely that the Gate opens here often at one in the morning. That's also why that young man almost always found you at 1 am- because he was drawn out, searching for his soul. He probably never even knew about it."

Sylla turned again to leave. "Speaking of the time, I have to leave. But before I do, I'll give you this." The elderly woman set down a vial of light purple liquid onto a nearby table. "This is a cure for that young girl. She has the vampire sickness; it's common amongst Hunters that work in the field." And with that, she walked through the doorway.

"Hold on, how do you know all this? Why would you help us? Advisor Sylla!" Hawkeye strode to the open doorway and looked around, but the old woman had vanished. And when she turned around, Hawkeye realized Hughes had vanished as well.

Ricky had stayed with Heath's body as night fell. He had even stayed in the one place when, not moments before, the number 3 had been carved onto the Gate with black ink and the Gate had explosively disintegrated into dust, leaving no trace. He stayed where he was, head down and motionless.

Hughes appeared beside him. "I'm sorry, Ricky."

Ricky slowly released Heath's body and stood, his hair covering his face. "They will pay."

Hughes sighed. "Most of the Homunculi are dead or captured now." He shrugged.

"Then I'll hunt down the ones that are still alive. I don't care who has them. They will _pay_ with their _lives_!" Ricky growled. His hands were clenched and his eyes narrowed in fury.

Hughes gave him a sideways glance. "You don't need to travel that path, Ricky. You can come with me, and help rebuild the Clan from the ruins it's fallen into." Hughes suddenly grinned like an idiot. "I went and saw my gorgeous wife and daughter! They have only increased in beauty will every passing day! I took some photos, see?" He suddenly shoved a handful of photos in Ricky's face. "And my wife still wears my wedding ring- she does still love me after all!" Hughes squealed in happiness.

Ricky sighed and muttered, "Then go live with her!"

Hughes shook his head. "No… they've moved on, and they're happy; I don't want to ruin that by showing up. I'll stay with the Clan."

"Look, Senior Hughes…" Ricky turned to face him. "You have the luxury of living happily. I don't. Someone robbed my dearest friend of his life." Ricky looked up into the night sky, a cool breeze ruffling his hair. "I have to do this."

Hughes nodded; he understood. "I hope you find the peace you're looking for."

Ricky scoffed and vanished off into the night. He had a mission to start.

Hughes gazed in the direction Ricky had gone, over all the bodies and carnage the war had left. Humans and vampires should not intertwine. He decided in that moment to leave both his adorable wife and daughter and his long-time friend and his team alone. It would be easier that way.

Hughes wished his friends and family the best, and then vanished for the last time.

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><p><strong>An: If anyone's wondering about Avisor Sylla, she was the elderly woman that Envy transformed into all the way back in Chapter 21.**


	33. Chapter 32 Epilogue

**Chapter 32 (Epilogue)-**

The wooden door leading to Mustang's inner office slammed open with a bang.

"Oi, bastard!" yelled Edward, striding confidently through the door. Despite his words, he had a smile lingering on his mouth.

"That's General to you, Fullmetal," Mustang looked up and smirked. It had been two months since the Homunculi had been defeated, and since then, everything had changed.

"Whatever. You just got that promotion 'cause you survived to tell the tale." Edward was referring to the war which had shaken all of Amestris. Mustang scoffed.

"That's all over now anyway." Ed's tone softened momentarily, before returning to his overconfident tone. "Here ya go."

Edward handed over a single piece of white paper. Mustang didn't even have to read it to know what it was.

"Your formal resignation from the military." Mustang closed his eyes. "You must be happy about that. At least, I assume you are; you're a _little_ too far down for me to see over my desk."

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO MINISCULE THAT IF HE FELL IN A PUDDLE HIS FEET COULDN'T TOUCH THE BOTTOM CAUSE HE'S SMALLER THAN AN ANT?!" Edward exploded, clapping his hands and changing a nearby ornament into a metallic spear. However, Mustang chuckled. That would never cease to amuse him.

"Brother, you don't have to shout. We can hear you from down the hall!" Alphonse entered through the already open door with a smile, and instantly Ed's wrath vanished. He changed the ornament back and grinned at his younger brother. Even two months on, he couldn't believe they'd actually achieved their goal. Sure, they'd been through hell to get it, but no longer. They were whole.

"Sir," Hawkeye followed Al. "Just because this is your first week out of the hospital doesn't mean you can slack off."

"But Lieutenant-!" Mustang protested.

"Now that you're a General, there's even more paperwork to be done than before. Start working!" And with those final words, she pushed Ed and Al through the door.

"The poor General. That stack of paperwork was even taller than I am." Al commented.

His brother turned, casually linking his hands behind his head. "He deserves it."

"Oh, Edward! You and Al are going to go see Havoc before you head off, right?" Falman asked.

The brothers paused. "Yeah," Ed replied.

Al continued. "We'll only be there for about half an hour though; otherwise we'll miss the train."

Hawkeye came through the door behind them. "Where are you two going first?"

"Three," Alphonse corrected, smiling teasingly at Ed. "A certain _someone_ invited Winry along."

Edward went slightly red, changing the subject. "We're going back to Risembool first, now that everything's settled. Then, we're going to travel."

"Yeah!" Al grinned excitedly. "We're going all over Amestris first, to see all our old friends- also show Winry around. And then we're thinking of going to Xing. We were going to anyway, to look for the philosopher's stone, but we don't have to worry about that anymore." Al smiled at Ed enthusiastically. "Now it's just for a holiday."

"Plus, my military resignation payout can cover all of that." Edward smirked.

"Sounds amazing. I wish I could go on a holiday like that," Falman sighed.

"Good luck, Elrics. You deserve it, both of you." Hawkeye gave them a small smile. "And if you were _working_, Falman, you'd find there would be no _time_ to wish you were on holidays." Hawkeye sent Falman a withering glare, and Falman quickly jumped back to work.

"Thanks," Ed replied, turning to go.

"Thank you, Miss Hawkeye!" Al followed with a wave.

Mustang entered the room, leaning on the doorframe. "If you two are ever in Central again, drop by." Mustang interrupted, ignoring Hawkeye's unimpressed glare.

The brothers both smiled, albeit Al's was considerably more enthusiastic than Edward's. "Sure," Edward responded, and with one final wave over his shoulder, he vanished through the door.

"Al." Mustang spoke before the boy could leave. "Keep an eye on him, okay? He seems normal, but…"

"General…?" Alphonse sounded confused.

Mustang closed his eyes. "Nothing. Have a safe trip."

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><p>Edward silently opened the door. "Oh, you're awake. How're ya feeling, Havoc?"<p>

Havoc smiled sarcastically. "I've been better, chief."

Havoc lay in the military hospital wing, in a well-light, open room. Bandages covered him from under his armpits down to his hips, mostly covered by his light green hospital clothes. At his bedside sat Winry, two suitcases on the floor beside her feet. A young nurse stood in one corner with a clipboard; however, as Edward entered, her eyes widened with fear and disgust. She dropped her clipboard and fled the room.

After a moment of silence, Winry spoke. "I thought you got everything sorted out, Ed. You know, that you weren't the one who kept murdering people when we first found you."

Edward sighed. "I did… I spoke to the military and told them it was actually an enemy that died in the war two months ago, and they believed me. But sometimes it's not that easy for people to believe it wasn't me. After all, the citizens of Central thought I was the murderer for months, and that kind of belief is hard to break."

Havoc lit a smoke, inhaling deeply. "Don't worry about it, Edward. Everyone important knows you didn't do it."

Alphonse closed the door and sat on the edge of Havoc's hospital bed. "How long will it be until you're healed and allowed to leave?"

Havoc sighed. "At least another month- you know, for 'rehabilitation' or whatever. As long as I'm allowed to smoke, I'm happy. And besides…" Havoc suddenly grinned. "I'm gonna ask that hot young nurse out!"

Edward rolled his eyes. "He's absolutely fine!" he muttered to Al and Winry, and they both laughed.

Havoc glanced over to the three, a contented look spreading over his features. Those brothers had been to hell and back; even Winry had held a heavy burden. But that was over now. They were finally free, and able to do whatever they wanted- both completely whole. Well…

Havoc squinted slightly and briefly managed to catch a glimpse of the red tint in Ed's slightly slitted eyes, the late afternoon sunlight illuminating his expression. The young man caught him looking and silently turned his head away, a shadow creeping over his eyes. He remembered what he'd done, as both a human… and a vampire. But he could deal with those things. It was all in the past now.

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><p>An hour later, Alphonse boarded the train, flashing their tickets to the conductor. The woman knew the Elrics well after they'd travelled from Central so many times, and let the three companions pass. The three chattered cheerfully as they headed down the corridor, the train lurching to a start, slowly building up speed. Edward threw his suitcase up on the luggage rack first, collapsing lazily into a seat beside the window. He brushed his golden hair out of his eyes and watched as the station started to fade, leaving his past behind. Then something caught his eye.<p>

For an instant, Ed thought he saw a pale man with black robes and pupil-less red eyes standing motionless among the crowd. He gasped, leaping to his feet and staring breathlessly out the window- but the Elder was gone, and as the train built up speed the station vanished from sight.

"Brother?" Alphonse asked as Winry peered over his shoulder. "Is something wrong?"

Edward slowly sat down and smiled at his brother and Winry. "Everything's fine. I mistook someone on the station for someone I knew."

Alphonse nodded and said something to Winry as Ed turned his gaze back out the window.

Yeah, that was all it was- just mistaken identity. He was free of all that now.

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><p><strong>AN: And that was the last chapter of Night Eyes. I hope you've all enjoyed reading it as much as I've enjoyed writing it! Thank you to everyone who's read to the very end of my first fanfiction, and to everyone who's given me feedback over the past year or so that it's taken to write this. I kind of can't believe I actually finished it.**

**My next fanfiction will be another Fullmetal Alchemist one, because I'm obsessed. It should be out early next month, so stay tuned for that. Also, if anyone wants to read a non-fanfiction story of mine (with my own characters and setting, as well as plot) I'd really appreciate it. Just google fiction press, click on the first result and search Trina Sapphire in the search bar under 'find author'. ****If you have any questions about the fic, feel free to ask! Bye :) **


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